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Once Were Warriors (1995)

Beneath the Billboards

The first shot of Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors displays a lush New Zealand landscape. The beautiful green hills and sparkling waters are exactly the sort of scenery Americans have come to expect from art-house foreign films. But in a startling pull-back, the camera reveals that this beautiful picture is merely a billboard. As the camera moves down into the gritty streets below the sign, we're forced to reconsider our Merchant-Ivory influenced preconceptions.

The characters in the film are Maori, members of a tribe who came to New Zealand before and during the 14th century and who subsequently fought English colonists.

Rena Owen plays Beth Heke, a strong woman who tries to keep her family together despite the destructive influence of her husband Jake (Temuera Morrison). Although Beth comes from a good Maori family, Jake's ancestors were slaves. When Jake loses his job, he begins to drink more heavily and to bring his drunken buddies home with him. He loves hosting parties--he charms his guests with his singing and with free-flowing beer. Despite Jake's huge frame and legendary reputation as a brawler, alcohol brings out his insecurities and his short-leashed temper. He takes out his rage on Beth, partly because he was hurt long ago when Beth's tradition-minded parents didn't think he was good enough for their daughter.

Beth clearly loves Jake--he is "the man" around town, and when he sings to her, he can almost make her forget his drunken rampages. Beth tolerates his screaming and hitting until his fury escalates and begins to affect their children. But her need to leave him always conflicts with her love for him and her sincere desire for a normal family life. As the movie chronicles the progression of Beth's conflicts with Jake, we see a proud, strong woman emerge and stand up for herself.

Although Once Were Warriors tells a tragic story, the moments of violence are balanced by exuberant scenes which revolve around singing. In one scene, Jake and Beth sing together for their friends, and in another, the family shares a song while traveling in a rented car. Such moments depict the happiness that Beth and her family hope to find on a more consisent basis.

Riwia Brown's script tries too hard to tie things together in the final scenes, but the urge to find a relatively happy ending to this story is understandable. The movie remains a thought-provoking examination of the psyche of a country that, to many Americans, is merely a beautiful land far from the troubled city streets of Los Angeles or New York. It is a rare trip behind the travel-agency billboards that gives us a glimpse of an urban, lower class, multi-ethnic community torn apart by the hardships of modern life.

Rating (1-5): 3.5
10/8/97
© Matthew K. Gold 1999-2001

Once Were Warriors (1995)
Directed by Lee Tamahori
Screenplay by Riwia Brown based on the novel by Alan Duff.
Starring Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison and Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell.