X
- 1995
- R
- Fine Line Features
- 1 h 42 m
- 1995
- R
- Fine Line Features
- 1 h 42 m
Summary A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
Directed By: Lee Tamahori
Written By: Riwia Brown, Alan Duff
- 1995
- R
- Fine Line Features
- 1 h 42 m
- 1995
- R
- Fine Line Features
- 1 h 42 m
Once Were Warriors
77
7.0
Summary A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
Directed By: Lee Tamahori
Written By: Riwia Brown, Alan Duff
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
77
90% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
10% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
77
90% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
10% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The film's story is both culturally specific and broadly universal and that duality is a large part of what makes Once Were Warriors work.
Once Were Warriors has more to say than the traditional TV-movie about spousal abuse. But some viewers will have to pay a price: This is a movie that requires strength and fortitude to sit through.
You can feel director Lee Tamahori doing his best to get a rise out of you. Yet his work has fire and substance, too.
At once upsetting and highly involving, it packs an undeniable punch.
An uncompromising, emotionally draining drama that presents the urbanization of New Zealand's Maori as a cultural disaster, one that is mirrored in the shards of a shattering marriage. This explosive first film by director Lee Tamahori focuses on the transformation of a battered wife, but its story is fueled by the machismo of the disenfranchised Maori male.
There's little new here, but uniformly powerful performances (especially Owen's) give the tale unexpected power and depth, and the exotic details--like the elaborate tribal tattoos worn by Nig's gang, or the Maori chants Boogie learns in reform school--make the Heke family's descent into misery seem fresher than it otherwise might.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
7.0
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
17% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
7.0
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
17% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Communicado Productions,
New Zealand Film Commission,
Avalon/NFU,
New Zealand On Air,
Brouhaha Entertainment,
Fish Entertainment
Release Date Mar 3, 1995
Duration 1 h 42 m
Rating R
Tagline Their People Once Were Warriors. But Once...Was a Long Time Ago.
Awards
New Zealand Film and TV Awards (I)
• 9 Wins & 10 Nominations
Montréal World Film Festival
• 4 Wins & 4 Nominations
Fantasporto
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
