Movie Recommendation - Once Were Warriors

I had heard of this movie before, but never got around to seeing it, but caught it last night on IFC. It's called Once Were Warriors, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's about a Maori family in New Zealand. The mother and father have left the Maori tribal village to live in the city. The father is one of those people who you can see that could have been a good man, but bitterness and pride have twisted him into an alcoholic and an abuser. The mother still loves him, and has consequently spent years chosing her husband over her children's welfare. And each one of the children is affected in their own way by their parent's volatile relationship.

The actors are really wonderful. Especially the three oldest children. I had some trouble with the Kiwi/Maori accent, and it helped to keep the CC on the TV while I was watching, just to be able to tell when they were pronouncing something differently or actually using a Maori word.

Basically, I cried through the last 20 minutes, through an ending that is both happy and sad. Some of the characters end up better than you expect, and some much worse. And I'm a huge fan of the haka, and there are some great sequences showing young men learning how to do it.

I'm going to recommend my teenage niece watch this movie, but I'll probably watch with her. She really enjoyed Whale Rider a few years ago, and this is a more mature story that shows the other side of the Maori life. It's got some really tough sequences that are shown very realistically, but nothing that isn't addressed in a lot of teen fiction these days. I think with some guidance it could be a good learning experience. It really shows the way native people have to struggle to reconcile their culture with Western culture. But it also shows that somethings (family issues, poverty, coming of age) are very similar, no matter where you are.

Keep an IFC for a re-broadcast. This is a small picture that I really doubt you'd ever see on any of the other movie channels. Or it would be very worth a rental.

On a side and less important note: The Maori men in this movie are freaking gorgeous. I mean wow. Okay, much less important than the fact that this is a great movie, but notable just the same.