Once Were Warriors
Promotional film poster
Directed by	Lee Tamahori
Produced by	Robin Scholes
Written by	Riwia Brown, based on the novel by Alan Duff
Starring	Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamengaroa Kerr-Bell
Music by	Murray Grindlay Murray McNabb
Cinematography	Stuart Dryburgh
Editing by	Michael Horton
Distributed by	Fine Line Features
Release date(s)	1994
Running time	99 min.
Language	English
Followed by	What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
IMDb profile

Once Were Warriors, published in 1990, was New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling first novel. It was the basis for the 1994 film directed by Lee Tamahori, starring Rena Owen and Temuera Morrison. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence. Image File history File links One_Were_Warriors. ... Lee Tamahori, born 1950 in Wellington, New Zealand, is best known as a film director although he got his start as a commercial artist and photographer in the late 1970s. ... Alan Duff (b. ... Rena Owen (born July 22, 1962) is a New Zealand Māori film actress,[1] best known for her role in the film Once Were Warriors (1994). ... Temuera Derek Morrison (born December 26, 1960) is a New Zealand actor. ... Michael Horton Michael Scott Horton is Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California and is heard regularly as host of The White Horse Inn radio program. ... Fine Line Features was the speciality films division of New Line Cinema. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? is the sequel to Once Were Warriors. ... Alan Duff (b. ... Lee Tamahori, born 1950 in Wellington, New Zealand, is best known as a film director although he got his start as a commercial artist and photographer in the late 1970s. ... Rena Owen (born July 22, 1962) is a New Zealand Māori film actress,[1] best known for her role in the film Once Were Warriors (1994). ... Temuera Derek Morrison (born December 26, 1960) is a New Zealand actor. ... Languages Māori, English Religions Māori religion, Christianity Related ethnic groups other Polynesian peoples, Austronesian peoples The word Māori refers to the indigenous people of New Zealand and their language. ...

Plot summary

The book and the movie follow a roughly similar plot. The two main differences are that Beth is arguably the central character of the film, whereas in the book she and Jake are equally central characters, and the final section of the book focusses on Jake, which does not happen in the film.

The novel is set in the fictional town of Two Lakes, clearly based on the town of Rotorua where Alan Duff grew up ("Rotorua" literally translates as "two lakes"), while the film takes place in an urban area of Auckland. The story deals with domestic violence and degradation within a contemporary Māori family. Rotorua is a city located on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Schematic map of Auckland. ...

Beth Heke (Rena Owen) left her small town and despite the disapproval of her parents she married Jake "the Muss" Heke (Temuera Morrison) - Muss being short for "Muscles." After eighteen years they live in a slum and have five children. Their interpretations of life and being Māori are tested. Since Beth is from a more traditional background she related to the old ways, while Jake is an interpretation of what some Māori have become. The family is also shown disconnected from Western culture and ways of learning. In the book, Beth reflects that neither she nor anyone else she knows has any books in their home, and in both the film and the book Grace is the only character with a real interest in school and learning. In the film she keeps a journal in which she writes about herself, and also stories which she tells her younger siblings. This disconnection from books and education is a major concern of Duff's, and in real life he has founded the Books in Homes charity which gives free books to children from poor backgrounds, and generally encourages reading. Rena Owen (born July 22, 1962) is a New Zealand Māori film actress,[1] best known for her role in the film Once Were Warriors (1994). ... Jake the Muss Heke is a fictional character in the film Once Were Warriors. ... Temuera Derek Morrison (born December 26, 1960) is a New Zealand actor. ...

Jake is unemployed and spends most of the day getting drunk at the local pub with his friends. Here, he is in his element, buying drinks, singing songs and savagely beating any other patron who he considers to have stepped out of line (hence his nickname of 'The Muss'). He often invites huge crowds of friends back from the bar to his home for wild parties. While Jake portrays himself as an easy going man out for a good time, he has a vicious temper when drinking. This is highlighted when his wife dares to 'get lippy' at one of his parties and he savagely attacks her in front of their friends.

Nig (Julian Arahanga), the Hekes' eldest son, moves out to join a street gang whose rituals include facial tattoos. He is subjected to a savage beating by the gang members, then embraced as a new brother by the leader and is later seen sporting the gang's tattoos. Nig cares about his siblings, but despises his father for his thoughtless brutality, a feeling returned by the elder Heke. In the book, Nig attempts to find a substitute family in the form of the gang, but this is unsuccessful as the gang members are either too brutal or too beaten down (in the case of Nig's gang girlfriend) to provide him with the love and support he craves. This subplot is mostly absent from the film.

The second son, Mark 'Boogie' Heke (Taungaroa Emile), has a history of minor criminal offences, and is taken from his family and placed in a foster home as a ward of the state due to the situation with his parents. Despite his initial anger, Mark finds a new niche for himself, as the foster home's manager instructs him in his Maori heritage.

Grace (Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell), the Heke's thirteen-year-old daughter, loves writing stories, as an escape from the brutality of her real life. Her best friend is a drug-addicted homeless boy named Toot who lives in a wrecked car. He is the one who really cares for her. Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell (b. ...

In both the book and the film, Grace is raped in her bed one night, and subsequently hangs herself. The circumstances are different and from this point the book and novel take different trajectories.

In the novel, the reader is left to judge who was the rapist. In her journal, found after her death, Grace says she was raped and thinks it was her father. Jake himself is unsure because he was too drunk to remember what happened that night. He leaves his family and starts living in a park, where he reflects on his life and befriends a young homeless man. Meanwhile Beth starts a Maori culture group and generally attempts to revive the community.

In the film, Grace is raped by her father's friend 'Uncle' Bully(Cliff Curtis). After wandering through the city streets one night Grace comes home to an angry Jake. As she is about to go to bed, Bully asks for "a kiss goodnight". Grace refuses and her father tears up her journal and nearly beats her up. She runs out to the backyard. Beth returns home a minute later and goes outside, to find that Grace has hanged herself. Cliff Curtis (born 27 July 1968, Rotorua, New Zealand) is a New Zealand actor. ...

Jake is soon kicked out of home by a newly-defiant Beth after he refuses to change his lifestyle, and stays in the pub with his mates while the rest of the family is attending Grace's funeral, a mix of Christian and Maori tradition. When Beth reads Grace's diary later that day she finds out about the rape and confronts Jake in the pub. Jake at first threatens Beth, but Nig hands him Grace's diary and Jake, true to form, reacts by beating 'Uncle' Bully to a pulp. Beth then states her intentions to leave with their children and return to her Māori village and traditions, defiantly telling Jake that her Māori heritage gives her the strength to resist his control over her.

Characters

Major Characters

Beth Heke - Rena Owen
Jake "the Muss" Heke - Temuera Morrison
Grace Heke - Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell
Nig Heke - Julian Arahanga
Boogie Heke - Taungaroa Emile
Polly Heke - Rachael Morris Jr.
Huata Heke - Joseph Kairau
Rena Owen (born July 22, 1962) is a New Zealand Māori film actress,[1] best known for her role in the film Once Were Warriors (1994). ... Jake the Muss Heke is a fictional character in the film Once Were Warriors. ... Temuera Derek Morrison (born December 26, 1960) is a New Zealand actor. ... Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell (b. ...

Minor Characters

Bully - Cliff Curtis
Dooley - Pete Smith
Bennett - George Henare
Mavis - Mere Boynton
Toot - Shannon Williams
Taka (Gang Leader) - Calvin Tuteao
King Hitter - Ray Bishop
Judge - Ian Mune
Cliff Curtis (born 27 July 1968, Rotorua, New Zealand) is a New Zealand actor. ... Pete Smith is a New Zealand actor (of Māori descent). ... Calvin Tuteao is a New Zealand actor who has appeared in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Once Were Warriors, Shortland Street and Xena: Warrior Princess. ... Ian Mune (born 1941) is a New Zealand character actor and director. ...

Production and awards

The film was produced by Communicado Productions, its first feature film.

The film won best film at the New Zealand Film & Television Awards, Durban International Film Festival, Montreal Film Festival and Rotterdam Film Festival. It also became at the time the highest grossing film in New Zealand, surpassing The Piano. Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... IFFR logo The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is one of the larger film festivals in Europe (arguably in the Big Five, alongside Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno). ... The Piano is a 1993 film about a mute female pianist and her daughter, set during the mid-19th century in a rainy, muddy frontier New Zealand backwater. ...

A disturbingly real exposé of domestic violence, Once Were Warriors impacted strongly on audiences, many of whom recognised and were forced to confront the parallel events in their own lives.

The book had a sequel released in 1996, What Becomes of The Broken Hearted?, which was also released as a film in 1999. It had a less angry feel to it and was poorly received compared to the original. A third book in the trilogy, Jake's Long Shadow, was released in 2002 but has not been made into a movie. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? is the sequel to Once Were Warriors. ...

Popular and critical reception

This film is highly controversial, and led to government reports on domestic violence in New Zealand.

The fight choreography of the bar-room brawl scenes, staged by stunt co-ordinator Robert Bruce, is widely considered to be some of the most realistic unarmed combat ever featured in a motion picture.

See also

• Cinema of New Zealand
• Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in fiction
• Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in films

New Zealand cinema refers to films made by New Zealand-based production companies in New Zealand. ... This article is about pedophilia/paedophilia in literature, i. ... This article is about pedophilia/paedophilia in movies/films. ...

Reference

• Thompson, K. M. (2003). "Once Were Warriors: New Zealand's first indigenous blockbuster." In J. Stringer (Ed.), Movie Blockbusters (pp. 230 - 241). London: Routledge.

External links

• Internet Movie Database
• Fine Line Cinemas