ONCE WERE WARRIORS
A film review by Christopher Null
Copyright 1995 Christopher Null
The opening scene of ONCE WERE WARRIORS, a highly-acclaimed new film from New Zealand, demolishes any outdated notions you may have that the island is a pastoral paradise, that families live on fields of green with herds of sheep, and that all is well in this world as a whole.
This unexpectedly powerful melodrama is the story of a Maori family in urban New Zealand, trying to make ends meet and coping with the overbearing presence of the family's father, a drunken brute who regularly beats those who cross him into bloodied pulp. Some of the most disturbing and explosive fight scenes on film result from this, as well as a tragically heart-breaking story line that inevitably follows. Because the family does nothing to stop the father, his madness goes unchecked. And when he shows a tinge of kindness, it is always soon replaced with retribution.
ONCE WERE WARRIORS is obviously not light fare. It is a painful and very effective tale about the destructive power of abuse, rape, alcoholism, and violence in general that easily transcends its New Zealand origin. The title refers to the fact that the Maoris were once a race of slaves and fighters, born with the rage of their ancestors deep in their souls. The story tells us what has become of the centuries of rage, leaving the audience with a warning about what may be happening in your country, in your town, in your home.
RATING: ****
|* Unquestionably awful | |** Sub-par on many levels | |*** Average quality, hits and misses | |**** Good, memorable film | |***** Perfection |
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