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Jan 31, 2015Nursebob rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
"Once Were Warriors" opens with an idyllic landscape of clear blue water and lush green hills, but when the camera pans away we realize we’ve been watching a garish billboard overlooking a filthy slum. It’s this constant juxtaposition of the serene with the tragic which gives the film much of its strength. Tamahori’s brutal look at the effects of personal apathy and cultural anomie on a Maori community is nothing less than harrowing. The men, descended from the proud warriors of the title, have now adopted fist-fights, petty crime and drinking binges as their new rites of manhood while the women seem resigned to a life of domestic violence and poverty. Within this setting he offers us an intimate glimpse into the life of one specific family. While she suffers at the hands of her abusive husband, Beth is drawn to the memories of her culturally rich childhood. Her eldest daughter, on the other hand, looks to the future by writing stories based on Maori legends. With one son in a gang and another seized by social services it takes a horrible tragedy to jar Beth out of her helpless stupor... A powerful and demanding film.