r/underratedmovies • u/IDieMovie • 4d ago
Once Were Warriors (1994)
Following up on Day 2 of my 14 day challenge to share the creative fuel that sparked inspiration in some of my film work, I wanted to bring attention to another vastly overlooked masterpiece. If you want something truly raw that will leave you absolutely speechless, you need to look at the 1994 New Zealand drama Once Were Warriors. It is an unbelievably cool ride.
While it was made on a minimalist budget, it completely strips away boring backstory to deliver a masterclass in raw, uncompromising storytelling. The movie deals with massive, heavy elements like domestic abuse, severe alcoholism, and the devastating tragedy of suicide, showing the absolute breaking point of human endurance. The premise is executed flawlessly, especially during those legendary, brutal bar fights that feel entirely grounded and terrifyingly real. You are watching a family trapped in a cycle of volatility, led by a powerhouse performance from Temuera Morrison as Jake The Muss. Fun fact for real action buffs, his unmatched intensity on screen is exactly why he was later cast in the Spartacus series to play Ulpius, the ultimate legendary head gladiator trainer known as the original Doctore. In this film, he is backed by an equally phenomenal performance from Rena Owen as Beth, and a brilliant early appearance by Cliff Curtis.
What makes the atmosphere push completely off the rails is the introduction of the local gang culture, featuring some of the absolute scariest face tattooed bikers in the world covered in traditional Maori ink. Another trivia nugget for real movie buffs, this specific aesthetic had such a massive impact that directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino used it as the direct inspiration to create George Clooney's iconic full sleeve flame arm tattoo in their classic From Dusk Till Dawn. On top of that, the whole production is anchored by an amazing, raw guitar heavy soundtrack where the real soul of the audio is the blistering, intense guitar work performed by the legendary Tama Renata. As a Geffen Record and Metal Blade recording artist myself, his raw, unhinged string bending and gritty tone were truly inspirational to my own creative endeavors. It honestly sets a new gold standard for grit in cinema and deserves way more recognition in the film community.
In my humble opinion.
Cheers
23
u/Shitfuckbitch420 4d ago
I’m from New Zealand and we really make good movies . Boy, once were warriors , dark horse , hunt for the wilderpeople. Boy is one of my favs of all time and from memory the only movie that made me shed a tear
3
→ More replies (43)3
20
u/dangerislander 4d ago
Rena Owen deserved Best Actress at the Oscars for that year. It was such a weak line-up. A shame she was snubbed entirely for the best performance of that year. Temuera Morrison, too.
→ More replies (3)6
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
Rena Owen was completely undeniable in this film. If you look at the actual lineup for Best Actress that year, it is a massive tragedy that she wasn't nominated, let alone winning it cleanly. The exact same goes for Temuera Morrison. It reminds me a lot of when Tom Hulce lost out for Amadeus. Sometimes a performance is so raw and intense that the mainstream award circuits simply don't know how to process it. They favor comfortable, safe choices over absolute genius. It is a pity, but their lack of trophies doesn't change the fact that those performances set an untouched standard for grit and power.
20
u/Equal-Dog6536 4d ago
I went to see this at the movies (here in NZ) as a Uni student. This was life in my small hometown growing up. Realised my uni flatmates and I were from totally different worlds as we left the movie theatre all they could say was “That’s not NZ” and “No one really lives like that” & how overdramatised it was. It wasn’t, it was more like a real life documentary to me as I recognised these people from my high school, my small town & all the girls & women I grew up with.
8
u/Elfiearia 4d ago
Yeahhhh. I watched it as part of a uni class, (Human development in Aotearoa) and that was exactly one of the points the prof made after. Looked around and said 'hands up who thinks that's overdramatised and not really how NZ is'. Could see how expressions changed as people looked around, seeing who had their hands up, and who didn't.
5
u/Equal-Dog6536 4d ago
It was staggering to me that this WASN’T a universe everyone in NZ could see. 💓
→ More replies (1)3
u/Sintuition 4d ago
Those people must have related more to the tourism billboard at the start of the film.
→ More replies (3)7
u/Regular-Host3108 4d ago
My daughter is in school with kids that are cutting and suicidal. One was raped by her neighbour and her parents didn't call the cops, the school counselor did. They are 12.
→ More replies (1)6
u/RuckusOGx 4d ago
It honestly is the most accurate depiction ever created of what is the reality for far too many people in NZ. Too real if that is possible, I know people who get upset watching it as it inflames their own buried trauma.
→ More replies (1)7
u/Equal-Dog6536 4d ago
The year this came out a former classmates 15 year old brother stabbed his own father to death in the Main Street of our town. I won’t go into more detail except to say it was self defence and he walked free. His Dad was a real Jake.
4
u/goshdammitfromimgur 4d ago
I was in Rotorua, lots of people I knew came out saying things like "just like home".
My 16 year old sister saw it with my parents in Auckland, in the North Shore. Lots of teenage boys consoling their girlfriends in the movie theatre afterwards. All looking pretty shell shocked.
Not under rated. Pretty highly rated in NZ
→ More replies (1)3
u/Rincey_nz 3d ago
The book was set in Rotorua. Although Alan Duff grew up in HB, as did I. There were people and locations in the book that were instantly recognisable.
→ More replies (1)5
u/DrPipAus 4d ago
That was our first thought having lived near Ford block in Rotorua- this is a documentary, not fiction.
→ More replies (1)4
u/munguz 4d ago
Yep, Alam Duff (author) is from Rotorua and based the story's setting on Ford Block, calling it Pine Block and the town Two Lakes (literal meaning of Rotorua) in the book. The film moved it to South Auckland.
I too knew and went to school with similar characters. Book & film based on many true stories.
→ More replies (1)4
u/TheCuzzyRogue 4d ago
I spent a big chunk of my childhood in Otara and while my reality was far removed from the Heke household, a lot of people I grew up with were not so lucky.
I even knew a family who's children all had similar stories (state care, gangs, molested by a family member) to the Heke kids and they all took their own lives before turning 25.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (8)3
u/kiwifulla64 4d ago
Definitely not overdramatised. Shit here was especially rough in some places during 80s and early 90s.
16
u/Low_Watch_1699 4d ago
11
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
That scene is beautiful. For a minute you see the whole family genuinely happy over a choice feed before the dark reality of that house takes over again. Great clip to share.
9
u/Snowy3121 4d ago
I feel like that's such shared kiwi experience all New Zealander can relate too, coming home to hot fish and chips.
5
u/BuckyDoneGun 4d ago
That's one of the things about the whole film, its full of shared experiences like that, like the fun side of the parties with the singalongs, driving in the car with the family singing to "What's The Time". Even if your family didn't suffer from violence, even if you weren't Maori, or from South Auckland, or maybe your best mate you shared your stories with wasn't a glue sniffing homeless kid, but those were all familiar scenes, with horrors lurking just under the surface.
→ More replies (1)3
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
There’s something so beautiful about the warmth of a Kiwi kitchen and coming home to hot fish and chips. Food really is the ultimate memory of life, and it’s exactly those cozy slices of life that make the best storytelling. Cheers!
→ More replies (1)3
33
u/AnalFanatics 4d ago edited 4d ago
It’s all fun and games until someone says:
“Cook the man some fu@#ing eggs…”
Back in the late 1980’s I knocked around with a few people who lived that life, and the movie portrays the lifestyle so accurately and so vividly. :(
6
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
That line is unforgettable and it sets the tone for how dangerous the house really was. The fact that you knew people who lived it proves why the movie is a masterpiece. It doesn't Hollywood anything up or fake the atmosphere for the camera. It just shows the raw, terrifying reality of that volatility. I love the rawness and truth of this brilliant film. Cheers!
10
u/NorthShoreHard 4d ago
And now in NZ we just throw it around as a joke in reference to the movie.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (4)7
u/Zealousideal-Till879 4d ago
Eh cook us some eeegs there Beth. oooooh and some BACON!
→ More replies (1)3
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
Classic! Uncle Bully really wanted those breakfast bacon and eggs. Honestly, one of the most quotable movies ever. Cheers!
11
u/El_Legarto 4d ago
I love Rena Owen’s delivery of the line towards the end: “You’ll always be a slave Jake! To the drink…to your fists…to yourself!”
This movie is core NZ cinema. Not to shit on Peter Jackson’s work, but man…
3
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
One hundred and fifty percent agree. Absolutely brilliant work! The soundtrack is amazing as well. So raw and Gritty. Thanks for commenting. Please drop by tomorrow as I have no doubt the peanut gallery will be tossing octopuses. Cheers.
11
u/VolcanoGrrrrrl 4d ago
The book and the sequel, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, are incredible.
8
11
u/ResponsibleOffer7418 4d ago
Nothing underrated about it. This is a highly beloved film in Nz that also received recognition overseas which was unheard of at the time for such a Nz specific theme.
Also interestingly a good number of these actors went on to be New Zealands Hollywood representation. Though for some reason often as racially ambiguous. The joke is that Cliff Curtis, who plays Uncle Billy, has played every ethnic group in the world. Especially when they need a scary bad guy foreigner that you can’t pin down their origin to avoid offending anyone in particular.
But OP is correct. Amazing film well worth watching. Gripping, entertaining and challenging all the same time. Hard to find that balance.
4
u/BiscuitBoy77 4d ago
Curtis is a first class actor. He has loads of range, and hasn't been typecast at all. Recently saw him slumming it in a Jason Statham movie (The Meg?) as a sensible level headed scientist.
Temuera Morrison has loads of screen presence, but not Curtis's range. TM probably best known as Boba Fett
→ More replies (1)3
→ More replies (1)3
8
u/KentuckyFriedEel 4d ago
Temuera is so entertaining to watch despite playing such a despicable character. It’s a brilliant performance
6
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
Completely agree! Temuera plays a monster but you can't take your eyes off him because his screen presence is so powerful. I have something special for tomorrow's post. Cheers!
→ More replies (3)5
→ More replies (3)3
u/Weird-Reception-4976 4d ago
It's what makes the performance and character so good- Jake is objectively horrible but also charming and likeable
8
7
u/thegreatbambie87 4d ago
39 here. Never heard of this one. Will check it out OP.
→ More replies (1)3
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
You are in for an unforgettable ride. It hits incredibly hard but it is absolute masterpiece cinema. Let me know what you think of it once you watch!"
7
u/GalaxxyOG 3d ago
The names Jake. Jake the Muss.
3
u/IDieMovie 3d ago
Right before the epic beatdown of the guy that was all muscle and needed to work on his speed. One of the tightest scenes in the film. Thanks for commenting. I'll be dropping another film later todaythat hits equally as hard. Cheers
→ More replies (4)
6
u/seanmonaghan1968 4d ago
This is a sledgehammer movie; it hits very hard and the bruise stays with you for life
→ More replies (3)
6
u/spinners_888 4d ago
Agree and disagree with the underrated status. It was a great, talked-about movie back in the 90s and early 2000s but its status didn't have the longevity in the proceeding decades and became forgotten and fell off the radar.
→ More replies (7)
6
u/ashbyashbyashby 4d ago
"an unbelievably cool ride"... that is the worst take I've ever heard on Once Were Warriors. It's a horror story, deeply rooted in an extremely entrenched culture of poverty and domestic violence.
→ More replies (7)3
u/homerthepigeon 3d ago
Yeah for real. This was reality for a lot of families living in South Auckland around that time.
→ More replies (11)
17
u/MrWoodTang 4d ago
I think you’ll find that it’s rated
3
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
Touché. It’s definitely highly rated by anyone with a pulse and good taste. I guess I just consider it 'underrated' by the modern algorithms that keep burying true cinema under a mountain of superficial bullshit! Cheers!
→ More replies (7)
5
u/NorthShoreHard 4d ago
This is the life aye kids? Don't even have to change gears.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/Low_Watch_1699 4d ago
Bloody ocens of the stuff! One of my favourite references i still use to this day
→ More replies (7)
6
u/Adept-Possible7362 3d ago
Ive mixed feelings about Once were Warriors. Great film, well made, good story line. Was made as a fictional movie. However south auckland hasn’t moved on from then. Still (quite literally) exactly the same houses, same characters, same violence, drug and alchohol abuse, abject poverty and lack of education. Happening to this day. This movie hasn’t aged well for the mere fact that the subject matter hasn’t aged at all.
→ More replies (2)3
u/IDieMovie 3d ago
Sounds like a rather dismal state. So many Urban centers around the World never get repaired only decline further. Whats Wellington Like? Thanks for getting in on the thread. I've been called a freaking bot all day for trying to be poignant, so now just talking to everyone the way I speak to, well,,,, everyone. Hope you have a great weekend. Stay Safe. Cheers.
3
u/whatdoyouknowno 3d ago
Wellington's Porirua and Titahi Bay used to be like this and there are still pockets, but not in the same way South Auckland did. In saying that, growing up in NZ towns, this was life for many to some degree. I was often a kid at house parties, we just did our own thing. Violence occured but usually at home.
NZ is still like this to some extent and we definitely needed it reflected back so we could make some changes. The problem is generational poverty - this includes white people too. It's tough and getting progressively worse.
→ More replies (5)
6
u/BackgroundTart_ 3d ago
As a kiwi who grew up with this type of violence and being close by these types of towns and people I cant watch this movie it makes me too uncomfortable and sick
3
u/Comprehensive-Sun954 3d ago
I had a melt down and ran out of the theatre. I was a teen and it was waaaay too close to home for me. This is real for so many us.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)3
u/HumanTraffic2 3d ago
It really is a hard film to watch, but very powerful and well made. Just bleak.
4
u/Budget_Ground363 4d ago
You coming to court aye mum ,I’ll catch the later bus son ,
This turned into a way of saying see ya .
“Catch ya later bus”
→ More replies (1)
4
u/KiwiPrimal 4d ago
Hillbilly Allegory hold my beer and welcome to South Auckland.
→ More replies (1)
4
4
4
u/El_Legarto 4d ago
I can never see Morrison in another movie without comparing it to this performance. The fact that he is bad guy in the Dora the Explorer movie is hilarious…
→ More replies (1)
3
u/CommercialContent204 4d ago
I rewatched this recently with a friend who had never seen it, and noticed something new: that after Beth makes it clear to Jake that (a) she has had enough, (b) she is leaving and (c) she isn't scared of him at all, the framing changes somehow, maybe a different angle: Jake looks smaller, less scary, and from the start he is always this huge terrifying man on the edge of exploding. Interesting.
→ More replies (9)
3
4
u/ElderlyWench 4d ago
Uncle fucking Bully. I find it hard to like Cliff Curtis to this day.
→ More replies (7)3
u/ComeAlongPonds 4d ago
→ More replies (1)3
u/FamousOnceNowNobody 4d ago
Beat me to it. All respect evaporated when he nearly killed the other guy.
3
u/Ladymomos 4d ago
This came out when I was 14, and even though it's R rated, our school took us to watch because they thought it was so culturally important.
→ More replies (5)
5
u/Dreddloch 2d ago
I remember when this movie came out, i dropped my mum off at the theatre and she had wanted me to go with her but I declined. When I picked her up I could see she had been crying so figured she must have liked it and that it also must have been quite sad.
I never actually watched it until after she passed away a few years later and then realized why she had been crying. Like many Māori, this is very similar to how we grew up, the old man was a piss head that beat mum, the older bros were in a gang, lying in bed hearing the crates being carried up the path and the fight the ensued later on, so many similarities.
If there was one thing I regret in life, its not going to the movies to watch it with my mum.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Ok-Object-1610 4d ago
The two people in the front I thought was the middle guy giving the middle finger lol.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Impossible-Mind6791 4d ago
Blew me away watching this film I always thought it was some b movie action flick ..wasnt expectating that
→ More replies (3)
3
u/Double-Wafer2999 4d ago
This was massive when I was a kid but rewatching it again as an adult, I was surprised how weirdly reactionary it was.
The beginning blew my mind as a kid.
→ More replies (2)
3
3
3
3
u/probablyinsox 4d ago
My mate died got killed when he was young 24...he loved that movie and all of us did he loved jake the muss...at his funeral we played where is my hear when he was leaving the church...i swear it was fucking lovely...r.i.p ningin...we loved this movie in ireland🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
→ More replies (1)
3
3
u/AggressiveCommand739 4d ago
Heavy subject matter. I watched it in a college Sociology class, I think. Stayed with me.
→ More replies (2)
3
3
u/Anthonywantsnoosnoo 4d ago
This movie is to New Zealanders and Aussies what Blood in Blood out is to Mexicans, a film everyone has to watch
→ More replies (6)
3
u/gully6 4d ago
The gangs portrayed in the film aren't biker gangs. NZ has 2 large etnic street gangs, Black Power and Mongrel Mob who adopted the 3 piece patch as a f you to the predominantly white bike clubs. Both groups have strong representation in many smaller towns as well as the cities.
The lines have become blurred in the modern Era with some chapters of BP and MM riding bikes and membership of the bike clubs having more Māori and Pacific Islanders in them.
→ More replies (7)
3
u/enzedkev 4d ago
Every time I see Cliff Curtis i just see uncle bully. He's a great actor
→ More replies (3)
3
u/kapaipiekai 4d ago
I was seeing a British woman (in NZ) who hadn't seen it. A friend came around and we spent 25 solid minutes quoting lines from it (You think your fists are your weapon? When I have taught you your mind will be..... Gee where you get those muscles from bro? You done a lag, amiright?.... You're still a slave Jake Heke....) until my gf just walked out.
4
u/IDieMovie 4d ago
That is agreat story. Spending nearly half an hour firing back and forth lines until she completely walked out proves how deeply this gets stuck in your head. Those quotes are golden. Thanks for sharing that memory. Have a great one. Cheers
3
u/BoogieBass 4d ago
Too much weights, not enough speed work...
3
u/kapaipiekai 4d ago
Good evening ladies, I've just had a bit of a windfall and since you're looking so bloody beautiful, I thought I might buy you girls a drink, especially the one standing here in his fucking party dress. Barman, six milkshakes, eh? Easy on the ice cream.
3
→ More replies (6)3
3
u/Spakoomy 4d ago
OP is not at the very least feeding everything through AI or flat out bot
→ More replies (1)
3
u/astrielx 4d ago
Never seen this sub before until it popped up on my feed.
A quick scroll through shows nobody on this fucking sub knows what underrated means, it's like Youtube comment section all over again.
→ More replies (7)
3
3
3
u/Bobcat1999-1 4d ago
Great summary of a great movie. I can’t add any more to the description. I can only say that if you haven’t seen it, see it. It’s a great story and the acting is great. It’s authentic too. Interesting stuff about the culture. See this movie!!
→ More replies (3)
3
u/surlybrian 3d ago
Fully agree this is one of the best NZ films.
And I must add: for as devastating as this film is, the book.... Oh my. The book is just. It's. The only words that can accurately convey the power of the book are, well, the book.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/pin1onu2 3d ago
I was living in the UK at the time and while it was a good movie, it didn't really resonate with the British because of the references to NZ culture and the warrior traditions etc.
That said a few years later Nil by Mouth was released and explored some similar themes. It's directed by Gary Oldman and stars Kathy Burke and Ray Winstone. It's a harrowing watch, just like OWW. Worth a watch as well.
→ More replies (2)
3
3
3
u/BasementCatBill 3d ago
"Completely overlooked"?
I guess you don't live in Aotearoa New Zealand. It's completely ingrained in our cultural history.
→ More replies (4)
3
u/cackmobile 1d ago
made the mistake of watching this on a comedown after a 3 day bender,
→ More replies (3)
3
u/Ecstatic_Yak961 1d ago
I remember going to the cinema to watch this. We didn't know what to watch so we just saw movie titles on a screen and thought once were warriors sounds good. We had no idea what is was about, thinking it might be a scifi movie. We came out of that in shock. Great movie but very disturbing.
→ More replies (2)
8
u/onlyhereforNFLupdate 4d ago
This is one of the most celebrated movies out of NZ.
What is your definition of underrated?
→ More replies (3)
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/GroundbreakingUse794 4d ago
Such an amazing film. Except for a handful of people I know, most people would think this was way too depressing to watch multiple times and that’s a shame. Absolutely brilliant work from the entire cast. Especially the four main characters
→ More replies (5)
2
2
u/Deep-Escape5757 4d ago
sounds like a powerful film that stays with u long after watching, def adding this to my list
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/Cavanaaz 4d ago edited 4d ago
I just love this sub Reddit, awesome people and amazing recommendations. I just want to say an extended thank you to all and keep these incredible finds coming 🏆
→ More replies (3)
2
2
u/Southern_Bunch_6473 4d ago edited 4d ago
Sad fact - or perhaps myth. But the guy who played uncle Bully apparently got beat up bad in a NZ pub as the guys who did it were dumb enough not to realise the difference between him and real life and the character he played in this movie.
This movie is brilliant but god damn it is a hard watch.
Edit - I had to look this up to be sure, I just remember people talking about it when I was younger. I don’t think it happened at all.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/behridingle 4d ago
Great film and it introduces folks in the US to the likes of Cliff Curtis who did an amazing job in Training Day
→ More replies (7)
2
u/ResponseRelative6370 4d ago
I gave the DVD to a younger friend to watch and she was like, “I want my mum.” That’s how people were and are living.
2
u/Numerous_Reach9777 4d ago
The sequel “what becomes of the broken hearted?” Is also worthy of mention
It’s Jake the Musses redemption arch with his son
Temuera Morrison and Rena Owen are both national treasures
→ More replies (2)
2
u/RedVelvetHamster 4d ago
The single lowercase i in MORRiSON bugs me a rediculous amount.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/rossfororder 4d ago
It's a miserable film but one of the best ive, it's powerful but really sad and the violence was confronting at times
→ More replies (1)
2
u/unit1_nz 4d ago
It was awful. I go to the movies to be entertained - not be educated on how miserable people's lives are.
2
u/ExplorerHead795 4d ago
This movie is grim reality for a lot of people in Aotearoa. When it first came out it was a musical comedy. I was desensitised to violence. The movie helped wake me up, to break the cycle. It made it okay to talk about stuff
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
2
u/str8sin 4d ago edited 4d ago
It's not the same... but related in many ways and definitely underrated--Cliff Curtis as the almost crazy chess player in, The Dark Horse. A lovely sad triumphant Maori movie. I've seen it a couple of times and it always packs a punch.
→ More replies (7)
2
u/Sexdrumsandrock 4d ago
Personally I feel it hasn't aged well but I saw it when it came out and the cinema was laughing along with the early bar scenes. Once he started on Beth though the whole theatre went silent. Right up until the end when there wasn't a dry eye in the house. For context everyome should find a picture of Dr ropata to see how tememura looked prior to the movie to see the contrast of how ferocious he looked on screen
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Jeezoh001 4d ago
I first saw this movie within 6 weeks of arriving in NZ. I know DV goes on world wide but this had me wondering if I did the right thing coming. It was very disturbing
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
u/funkster80 4d ago
Reading this reminded me of another great NZ film, Savage It follows 30 years and 3 pivotal points in the main character's life as he becomes a gang leader.
It was filmed around Wellington and I remember the actor walked around our local shopping mall in character so he could get a sense of people's reactions.
The cinema was silent at the end. An incredible but brutal watch.
→ More replies (11)
2
u/Wolfpac187 4d ago
The NZ film. Not my personal favourite (Boy or The Dark Horse) but this is the most iconic movie for any kiwi.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Fabulouslycareless 4d ago
Vastly overlooked? Mate this movie is a classic and known to pretty much everyone that grew up in the 90s
→ More replies (3)
2
u/queencucksback 4d ago
This movie hits hard. It's a very realistic look into the life of many unfortunate Maori families. Every beat and scene was something familiar that I'd experienced growing up in a gang affiliated environment
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Low_Shop9155 4d ago
Temuera - what an actor. And he seems as if he would be a very nice and knowledgeable Man.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/FrankanelloKODT 4d ago
I wouldn’t say it’s underrated, but more underviewed. It’s an NZ movie that, at the time, was familiar to a lot of people that live here. It spoke a lot to NZers, so was felt a lot more here. I would say it’s relatively unknown everywhere else except NZ/AU, but most people that have seen it would not say it’s underrated
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
u/Equivalent-Ad-9211 4d ago
I saw the film back then at a surprise preview screening at the Grindel Cinema in Hamburg, Gernany and was absolutely blown away. What an incredible film that was!
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/thedsider 4d ago
Fun story. A friend of mine was marrying a Maori guy and they asked me to MC their wedding. I didn't know a lot about Maori culture and wanted to at least prep a little. For some reason I thought this movie was an inspirational, happy movie and thought it would be a good cultural touchstone to reference....
Then I watched it. Needless to say, I could not reference any of it. When I told the groom he laughed and said "should have watched Whalerider"
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Luce_Bot_Bot 4d ago
Omg, I was taking a sick day in primary school and discovered they aired completely adult movies during daytime TV lol. I hated Temuera Morrison for so long afterwards. Absolutely spectacular acting from everyone involved
→ More replies (3)
2
2
u/swampopawaho 3d ago
This is a great film. Sadly, the fictional, but true in all other aspects, story for many in Aotearoa. Watch it if you want a real account of life far from the inane stories of whatever happened to Mr-who-the-fuck-cares Richard Prick and his super hero mates..
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
u/SoulsofMist-_- 3d ago
Sequel for anyone who hasn't seen it or didn't know there was one.
https://youtu.be/ME8pMyZsBYQ?si=3QbZJE6UUlvYkexs
I enjoyed it, offers some "redemption" for Jake. Not as impactfull as the first movie , but still worth watching in my opinion.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/thejbipkid 3d ago
Broken English 1996 was another NZ movie I liked but it’s impossible to find Culture clash between Maori and Croat people
→ More replies (1)
2
u/North_Apricot_4440 3d ago
Right from the opening title credits this movie grabs you. As an American it showed the side of NZ that we hadn’t seen on film. That roadside bar still blows my mind. The urban decay, daily struggles, alcohol and dominant male culture on display was riveting.
Still one of my all time movies.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/XasiAlDena 3d ago
yeah I watched this movie on a whim once because I was bored and... WOW. Great movie, but I was not ready ._.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/Icy-Cheesecake3830 3d ago
I have seen films that left me at least as shaken and upset- like "Idi smotri" ("Come and See")
But not another film that made me physically ill like this.
Too close to home. Parts of it were like watching home videos.
2
2
u/Unfair_Baby7982 3d ago
Thanks for the suggestion! I just watched it, and the way the story unfolds was so unsettling. I was absolutely mortified by what happened to Grace. The line, “Notice how you never see black in the rainbow,” followed by the song “This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made,” just shattered me.
It was so hard to process the fact that evil could be standing right next to you, casually pouring you a drink, while you have absolutely no idea.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/flameevans 3d ago
I saw this and Kids back to back. It was the most depressing double feature ever.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/elgoato 3d ago
I grew up in South Auckland, went to school with these kids, and have been robbed, threatened at knifepoint, chased by mongrel dogs, shopped at the old Foodtown that was converted to the Royal Tavern that anchored some of the brutality of this film... so I can say this film is fucking real. It is a side of New Zealand most can't comprehend -- frankly especially those Kiwis who quote it in jest. I am fucking glad to be out of that shithole and am glad this will not be the life of my kids.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/Tryingagain1979 3d ago
Yelling "Jake the musc" was a thing for a short while while i was in high school around 1993-1995.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/punckae8 3d ago
This is a classic, what became of the broken hearted probably would of been your better choice
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Silver_Storage_9787 3d ago
Ok, my recommendation for you. “The devil dared me to”.
Super crude spoof movie from New Zealand. About some bogan daredevils wanting to jump the cool straight on a motorcycle.
It’s just one of the films like scary movie or borat. Where you are saying WTF is going on. But when I watched it as a 13 year old I couldn’t stop laughing
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Wodimus_Prime 3d ago
“You’ve been lifting those weights bru?” We watched this movie after every night out in the mid 2000s it was a rugby staple back in the day.
→ More replies (2)
2
2
2
2
u/Acceptable_Monk_513 3d ago
Uncle Fucking BULLY!
The reason I can appreciate this movie but can never watch it again.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/Remarkable-Round-227 3d ago
The domestic abuse and rapes were hard to watch, but it's a great movie.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/scarystardust 3d ago
For some reason I had seen this movie many times between ages 10-13 and the themes didn't seem wild to me at the time.
→ More replies (3)
2
2
u/lame_gag 2d ago
I watched this for the first time this year and I went into this film not knowing anything about it. I was blown away. It's such a powerful film and left a huge impression on me. Even though I'm from England, it felt real. It had a realness and a rawness to it. I thought it was incredible.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/WatcherYui 2d ago
Damn I remember the title of this film being tossed around growing up in the 90s. I've got to see this.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Xyldarrand 2d ago
When I lived in Japan for a while I knew a bunch of folks from NZ. They lent me this movie. Still fucks with me to this day. Incredibly good but I couldn't watch it again.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
133
u/southerna-up-north 4d ago
Cult classic, not underrated.