Review of Once Were Warriors (1994) by Orpheus A — 28 Apr 2012

Who do a warrior people war with when all the wars are vanquished? And the answer is in this instance; themselves. This is a depiction of The Maori peoples of New Zealand, a world in which masculine ferocity reigns supreme amongst social degradation, and those that are fragile and soulful are so often the heartbreaking collateral.

This is searingly powerful stuff; with no excess stylisation in order in bring its message home, just fantastic performances and solid, no holds barred filmmaking. I can think of few films from any country in which domestic violence is so accurately portrayed, Temuera Morrison's startling realistic portrayal of a Jake The Muss, an incredibly violent and unpleasant father after all drew the attention of George Lucas (shame about the outcome, and yeah that's me kicking 'the sci-fi holy grail' in the balls.). Rena Owen as his beyond brave wife Beth, also demands much praise for her performance (haven't seen her in much since the little known sequel, and yes I could bring up a number of points about both ethnicity and gender.).

Like all the great films 'One Were Warriors' confronts a truth of matters that so often are so often hidden away and treated as social taboo's. In fact while the film very much remains a powerful depiction of The Maori peoples its themes transcend race or even necessarily class background. And in a world of shit, truth matters the most. It shimmers like gold.