Once Were Warriors

The power and importance of cultural roots.

This was the first New Zealand film I saw, at least as far as I remember and am aware of that. It's a violent film, with a raw brutality that shocks us by how authentic it sounds. Domestic violence? Child rape? It's not something you only see in the movies. It's something you see in a newspaper. That's what shocks us the most: knowing it's something real. And I warn you now: there are violent films, but this one is really intense and shocking... a lot.

The film takes place in Auckland, in a poor suburb built by the State for people with very low incomes. There lives an overwhelmingly Maori population, apparently on the margins of Anglo-Saxon, white and elegant society. This country ceased to be a colony a long time ago but, as happens in many places in the world, the dominant ethnic group is still that of European descendants and there is a certain dominant racism. In the midst of this, this Maori population seems lost, aimless in the midst of vices and crime. Will that be reality? I don't know, but a quick search of some New Zealand newspapers indicates that the problem is real.

Lee Tamahori did a good job of preventing this film from becoming something it shouldn't be, that is, a tearful drama or an anti-racist manifesto that is no longer given the attention it deserves. Instead, the director starts from this base and makes a blunt and sincere affirmation of the importance of searching for cultural roots and the way in which this changes our way of being and our attitude in life. Why does Jake Heke do what he does? Because he cut all ties with his culture and roots after he ran away with his wife in order to get married. In doing so, he took refuge in violence. The children would also suffer from this, and only a reencounter with their roots can give them the guidance in life that they so badly need, and that they instinctively seek.

The film has excellent cinematography and visuals. Personally, I don't r...