Once Were Warriors (film)
Encyclopedia
Once Were Warriors is a 1994 film based on New Zealand
author Alan Duff
's bestselling 1990 first novel
. The film tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and their problems with poverty
, alcoholism
and domestic violence
, mostly brought on by family patriarch Jake. It was directed by Lee Tamahori
, and stars Rena Owen
and Temuera Morrison
.
) left her small town and, despite the disapproval of her parents, married Jake "the Muss" Heke (Temuera Morrison
) - Muss being short for "Muscles." After eighteen years they live in a unkempt council house and have five children. Their interpretations of life and being Māori are tested. Their oldest daughter, Grace, keeps a journal in which she chronicles events as well as stories which she tells her younger siblings.
Jake is fired from his job and but is satisfied with the unemployment benefit, spending most of the days getting drunk at the local pub with his friends. There he is in his element, buying drinks, singing songs and savagely beating any other patron whom he considers to have stepped out of line. He often invites huge crowds of friends back from the bar to his home for wild parties. While Jake portrays himself as an easygoing 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. Beth is shown to love her kids deeply but is incredibly flawed and weak. She too turns to drink when things go wrong, and angry outbursts, and sometimes violence (but on a much smaller scale). Her children are shown to do everything for themselves, and even resignedly clean the blood-streaked house after her beating, which is obviously not a first from their reaction.
Nig (Julian Arahanga
), the Hekes' eldest son, moves out to join a street gang whose rituals include facial tattoos (in Māori culture called Tā moko
). This usually shows the heritage of the person; in Nig's case, he shows only the heritage of his mother, with the Moko located on only one side of his face. He is subjected to a merciless beating by the gang members, then embraced as a new brother by the leader, and later sports the gang's tattoos. Nig cares about his siblings, but despises his father for his thoughtless brutality. He is angered when his mother is beaten, but deals with it by walking away.
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 Māori heritage. Jake does not care that Boogie is taken away; he comments that it will do him some good, to toughen him up a bit. Beth is heartbroken, and goes to an effort to get the money together to visit him. Jake pays for the rental car from gambling winnings but deserts them to go to the pub, and they never make the journey.
Grace (Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell
), the Hekes' 13-year-old daughter, loves writing stories as an escape from the brutality of her life. Her best friend is a homeless boy named Toot who lives in a wrecked car. She despises the future she believes is inevitable and is constantly reminded of—getting married and playing the role of the wife, which she believes to be catering to one's husband's demands and taking a beating when one has "deserved" it. She dreams of leaving and being independent and single.
Grace is raped in her bed by family friend 'Uncle' Bully (Cliff Curtis
) who tells her that it is her fault for "turning him on". She tries to go to Toot for support, but he kisses her, trying to show his love for her. She reacts violently and storms out, believing him to be "just like the rest of them". 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 goodnight kiss in front of everyone, to test his power over her. 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.
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 are attending Grace's traditional Māori funeral ceremony. Beth stands up to him properly for the first time as he refuses to let her be taken to the marae; he has always felt second rate for not being in touch with his heritage, in his words, "a black bastard". The film cuts back and fourth between the mourning, Jake in the pub, bottling it up, and the family on the marae. Boogie impresses Beth with his singing, and Toot says his goodbyes, telling her the gentle kiss was all he meant by it, and Beth tells him to come and live with them. Reading Grace's diary later that day, Beth 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 severely beating 'Uncle' Bully, even to the point of stabbing him with a glass bottle. Beth blames Jake just as much as Bully for allowing the circumstances under which it happened. She leaves and 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. Jake hopelessly sits as the family leave, with sirens wailing in the background, presumably for him.
where Alan Duff grew up ("Rotorua" literally translates as "two lakes") - the film takes place in Auckland
.
In the book, Beth and Jake are roughly equal characters, and Beth is a flawed but dynamic character who is almost as irresponsible as Jake. In the film, Beth is more central - especially as Jake's period of homelessness is completely absent from the film - but her character is less complex. The difference between Beth's character in the book and the film is illustrated by an episode in which the family rent a car in order to visit Boogie in borstal, but Jake ends up getting drunk in the pub as the family wait in the car with him promising to have only one drink. In the book, Beth hires the car using money she has saved by not drinking, but quickly joins Jake in the pub and gets upset that they have not visited Boogie only when it is too late. In the film, the rental car is obtained by Jake giving money to Beth that he won gambling on horse racing, whilst Beth waits in the carpark for several hours before going back home without visiting Boogie. Essentially, Beth spends the first three quarters of the movie as a passive character before Grace's suicide spurs her into leaving Jake, whereas throughout the book she makes several attempts to improve her life before improving both her family's life and her community.
The subplot concerning Nig's gang is a bigger part of the book than the film. Nig attempts to find a substitute family in the gang, but its members are either too brutal or too beaten down to provide him with the love and support he craves.
The most apparent differences between the plot of the novel and film is the ending. In the novel, Grace is not sure who rapes her, but thinks it may have been Jake. She writes this in her diary and when the rest of the family find it they confront Jake. He cannot remember what happened as he was too drunk. He then leaves the family, lives in a park and befriends a young homeless man. Meanwhile Beth begins a Māori culture group and generally reinvigorates the community.
, Montreal Film Festival and Rotterdam Film Festival. It also became at the time the highest grossing film in New Zealand, surpassing The Piano
.
The film was shot at a local Otara state house
, located in O'Connor street. The film was filmed primarily in this house, with neighbours complaining on numerous occasions due to the film's late night party scenes.
A sequel to the book was published in 1996, What Becomes of The Broken Hearted?, which was made into a film in 1999. However, it was poorly received compared to the original. The third book in the trilogy, Jake's Long Shadow
, was published in 2002 but has not been made into a movie.
, which compiles mostly North America
n reviews, shows that 29 out of 31 were "fresh", or 94 percent positive. The reviews gave the film an average rating of 7.7 out of 10.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
author Alan Duff
Alan Duff
Alan Duff is a New Zealand novelist and newspaper columnist, most well known as the author of Once Were Warriors.- Biography :...
's bestselling 1990 first novel
Once Were Warriors
Once Were Warriors is New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling first novel, published in 1990. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence. It was the basis of a 1994 film, directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Rena Owen and Temuera...
. The film tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and their problems with poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
, mostly brought on by family patriarch Jake. It was directed by Lee Tamahori
Lee Tamahori
Lee Tamahori is a New Zealand filmmaker best known for directing the 1994 film Once Were Warriors and the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day.-Upbringing and early career:...
, and stars Rena Owen
Rena Owen
Rena Owen is a New Zealand actress in film, theatre and television. She is of Maori, Torres Strait Islander and Pakeha descent. Owen is most well known in the lead role of Beth in the cult classic movie Once Were Warriors directed by Lee Tamahori...
and Temuera Morrison
Temuera Morrison
Temuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand-born actor. He has become one of the country's most famous stars for his roles as the abusive Jake "the Muss" Heke in 1994's Once Were Warriors and as bounty hunter Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers in the Star Wars series...
.
Plot
Set in 1994, Beth Heke (Rena OwenRena Owen
Rena Owen is a New Zealand actress in film, theatre and television. She is of Maori, Torres Strait Islander and Pakeha descent. Owen is most well known in the lead role of Beth in the cult classic movie Once Were Warriors directed by Lee Tamahori...
) left her small town and, despite the disapproval of her parents, married Jake "the Muss" Heke (Temuera Morrison
Temuera Morrison
Temuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand-born actor. He has become one of the country's most famous stars for his roles as the abusive Jake "the Muss" Heke in 1994's Once Were Warriors and as bounty hunter Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers in the Star Wars series...
) - Muss being short for "Muscles." After eighteen years they live in a unkempt council house and have five children. Their interpretations of life and being Māori are tested. Their oldest daughter, Grace, keeps a journal in which she chronicles events as well as stories which she tells her younger siblings.
Jake is fired from his job and but is satisfied with the unemployment benefit, spending most of the days getting drunk at the local pub with his friends. There he is in his element, buying drinks, singing songs and savagely beating any other patron whom he considers to have stepped out of line. He often invites huge crowds of friends back from the bar to his home for wild parties. While Jake portrays himself as an easygoing 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. Beth is shown to love her kids deeply but is incredibly flawed and weak. She too turns to drink when things go wrong, and angry outbursts, and sometimes violence (but on a much smaller scale). Her children are shown to do everything for themselves, and even resignedly clean the blood-streaked house after her beating, which is obviously not a first from their reaction.
Nig (Julian Arahanga
Julian Arahanga
Julian Arahanga is a New Zealand film and television actor.-Biography:Arahanga was born Julian Sonny Arahanga in Raetihi, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand. His father is screenwriter Larry Parr. Arahanga is 5 foot and 10 inches...
), the Hekes' eldest son, moves out to join a street gang whose rituals include facial tattoos (in Māori culture called Tā moko
Ta moko
Tā moko is the permanent body and face marking by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Traditionally it is distinct from tattoo and tatau in that the skin was carved by rather than punctured...
). This usually shows the heritage of the person; in Nig's case, he shows only the heritage of his mother, with the Moko located on only one side of his face. He is subjected to a merciless beating by the gang members, then embraced as a new brother by the leader, and later sports the gang's tattoos. Nig cares about his siblings, but despises his father for his thoughtless brutality. He is angered when his mother is beaten, but deals with it by walking away.
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 Māori heritage. Jake does not care that Boogie is taken away; he comments that it will do him some good, to toughen him up a bit. Beth is heartbroken, and goes to an effort to get the money together to visit him. Jake pays for the rental car from gambling winnings but deserts them to go to the pub, and they never make the journey.
Grace (Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell
Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell
-Biography:Her breakthrough role as Grace Heke in the Lee Tamahori film, Once Were Warriors, based on the book of the same name by Alan Duff, was as a "sixteen-year-old newcomer [when Kerr-Bell] was discovered by casting director Don Selwyn while accompanying a friend to the auditions for Once Were...
), the Hekes' 13-year-old daughter, loves writing stories as an escape from the brutality of her life. Her best friend is a homeless boy named Toot who lives in a wrecked car. She despises the future she believes is inevitable and is constantly reminded of—getting married and playing the role of the wife, which she believes to be catering to one's husband's demands and taking a beating when one has "deserved" it. She dreams of leaving and being independent and single.
Grace is raped in her bed by family friend 'Uncle' Bully (Cliff Curtis
Cliff Curtis
Clifford Vivian Devon "Cliff" Curtis is a New Zealand actor who has had major roles in film, including The Piano, Whale Rider, and Blow, and most recently has appeared in NBC's television series Trauma. He is also co-owner of independent film production company Whenua Films...
) who tells her that it is her fault for "turning him on". She tries to go to Toot for support, but he kisses her, trying to show his love for her. She reacts violently and storms out, believing him to be "just like the rest of them". 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 goodnight kiss in front of everyone, to test his power over her. 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.
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 are attending Grace's traditional Māori funeral ceremony. Beth stands up to him properly for the first time as he refuses to let her be taken to the marae; he has always felt second rate for not being in touch with his heritage, in his words, "a black bastard". The film cuts back and fourth between the mourning, Jake in the pub, bottling it up, and the family on the marae. Boogie impresses Beth with his singing, and Toot says his goodbyes, telling her the gentle kiss was all he meant by it, and Beth tells him to come and live with them. Reading Grace's diary later that day, Beth 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 severely beating 'Uncle' Bully, even to the point of stabbing him with a glass bottle. Beth blames Jake just as much as Bully for allowing the circumstances under which it happened. She leaves and 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. Jake hopelessly sits as the family leave, with sirens wailing in the background, presumably for him.
Differences between book and film
The book and the movie follow a roughly similar plot. The three major differences are the role of Beth; most of Nig's gang subplot is absent from the film; and the ending is significantly different. In addition, whereas the novel was set in the fictional town of Two Lakes - clearly based on the town of RotoruaRotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
where Alan Duff grew up ("Rotorua" literally translates as "two lakes") - the film takes place in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
.
In the book, Beth and Jake are roughly equal characters, and Beth is a flawed but dynamic character who is almost as irresponsible as Jake. In the film, Beth is more central - especially as Jake's period of homelessness is completely absent from the film - but her character is less complex. The difference between Beth's character in the book and the film is illustrated by an episode in which the family rent a car in order to visit Boogie in borstal, but Jake ends up getting drunk in the pub as the family wait in the car with him promising to have only one drink. In the book, Beth hires the car using money she has saved by not drinking, but quickly joins Jake in the pub and gets upset that they have not visited Boogie only when it is too late. In the film, the rental car is obtained by Jake giving money to Beth that he won gambling on horse racing, whilst Beth waits in the carpark for several hours before going back home without visiting Boogie. Essentially, Beth spends the first three quarters of the movie as a passive character before Grace's suicide spurs her into leaving Jake, whereas throughout the book she makes several attempts to improve her life before improving both her family's life and her community.
The subplot concerning Nig's gang is a bigger part of the book than the film. Nig attempts to find a substitute family in the gang, but its members are either too brutal or too beaten down to provide him with the love and support he craves.
The most apparent differences between the plot of the novel and film is the ending. In the novel, Grace is not sure who rapes her, but thinks it may have been Jake. She writes this in her diary and when the rest of the family find it they confront Jake. He cannot remember what happened as he was too drunk. He then leaves the family, lives in a park and befriends a young homeless man. Meanwhile Beth begins a Māori culture group and generally reinvigorates the community.
Major characters
- Beth Heke - Rena OwenRena OwenRena Owen is a New Zealand actress in film, theatre and television. She is of Maori, Torres Strait Islander and Pakeha descent. Owen is most well known in the lead role of Beth in the cult classic movie Once Were Warriors directed by Lee Tamahori...
- Jake "the Muss" Heke - Temuera MorrisonTemuera MorrisonTemuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand-born actor. He has become one of the country's most famous stars for his roles as the abusive Jake "the Muss" Heke in 1994's Once Were Warriors and as bounty hunter Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers in the Star Wars series...
- Grace Heke - Mamaengaroa Kerr-BellMamaengaroa Kerr-Bell-Biography:Her breakthrough role as Grace Heke in the Lee Tamahori film, Once Were Warriors, based on the book of the same name by Alan Duff, was as a "sixteen-year-old newcomer [when Kerr-Bell] was discovered by casting director Don Selwyn while accompanying a friend to the auditions for Once Were...
- Nig Heke - Julian ArahangaJulian ArahangaJulian Arahanga is a New Zealand film and television actor.-Biography:Arahanga was born Julian Sonny Arahanga in Raetihi, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand. His father is screenwriter Larry Parr. Arahanga is 5 foot and 10 inches...
- Boogie Heke - Taungaroa Emile
- Polly Heke - Rachael Morris Jr.
- Huata Heke - Joseph Kairau
Minor characters
- Bully - Cliff CurtisCliff CurtisClifford Vivian Devon "Cliff" Curtis is a New Zealand actor who has had major roles in film, including The Piano, Whale Rider, and Blow, and most recently has appeared in NBC's television series Trauma. He is also co-owner of independent film production company Whenua Films...
- Dooley - Pete Smith
- Bennett - George HenareGeorge HenareGeorge Winiata Henare, CNZM, OBE is an acclaimed New Zealand actor with a distinguished career spanning more than three decades.-Biography:In 1988, he was awarded an OBE for Services to Theatre...
- Mavis - Mere Boynton
- Toot - Shannon Williams
- Taka (Gang Leader) - Calvin TuteaoCalvin TuteaoCalvin Tuteao is a New Zealand actor who has appeared in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Once Were Warriors, Shortland Street and Xena: Warrior Princess....
- King Hitter - Ray Bishop
- Judge - Ian MuneIan MuneIan Barry Mune, OBE is a New Zealand character actor and director. He co-wrote and starred in Roger Donaldson's first film, Sleeping Dogs. He also directed Came a Hot Friday, which featured comedian Billy T. James as the Tainui Kid, and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, the sequel to Once Were...
- Policeman - Robert PollockRobert Pollock (New Zealand actor)Robert Pollock is a New Zealand actor. He has been in many roles since 1988. He is currently teaching Drama at Whangarei Boys High School, NZ.-Film:* Beyond Gravity * Once Were Warriors - Policeman...
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 FestivalDurban International Film Festival
The Durban International Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It is one of the oldest and largest film festival in Southern African and presents over 200 screenings celebrating the best in South African, African and...
, Montreal Film Festival and Rotterdam Film Festival. It also became at the time the highest grossing film in New Zealand, surpassing The Piano
The Piano
The Piano is a 1993 New Zealand drama film about a mute pianist and her daughter, set during the mid-19th century in a rainy, muddy frontier backwater on the west coast of New Zealand. The film was written and directed by Jane Campion, and stars Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and Anna Paquin...
.
The film was shot at a local Otara state house
State housing
State housing is the system of public housing offered to New Zealand residents on low to moderate incomes. Some 66,000 houses are managed by Housing New Zealand Corporation, most of which are owned by the government.-The Liberal Government:...
, located in O'Connor street. The film was filmed primarily in this house, with neighbours complaining on numerous occasions due to the film's late night party scenes.
A sequel to the book was published in 1996, What Becomes of The Broken Hearted?, which was made into a film in 1999. However, it was poorly received compared to the original. The third book in the trilogy, Jake's Long Shadow
Jake's Long Shadow
Jake's Long Shadow is a novel by Alan Duff, first published in 2002. It is the third book in the Once Were Warriors trilogy, following Jake "The Muss" Heke and his estranged family. Jake had previously driven his wife and children away for his domestic violence ways. The story shows new characters...
, was published in 2002 but has not been made into a movie.
Popular and critical reception
The website RottenTomatoes.comRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, which compiles mostly North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n reviews, shows that 29 out of 31 were "fresh", or 94 percent positive. The reviews gave the film an average rating of 7.7 out of 10.
External links
- Once Were Warriors on NZ On ScreenNZ On ScreenNZ On Screen is an online showcase of archival New Zealand television and film. The website is fully funded by NZ On Air and provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide authoritative background information.The site...
- behind-the-scenes footage and interviews as well as the film trailer. Free to view (FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
required)