Countries & Movies: New Zealand
New Zealand cinema is presented in the Golden Thousand by two films: the film directed by Lee Tamahori “Once Were Warriors”, 1994, and the 2005 film “The World's Fastest Indian” by Roger Donaldson. Our post today is dedicated to the film “Once Were Warriors”.
The premiere of this film took place on September 2, 1994 in frames of the Venice Film Festival. At this festival, this film of Lee Tamahori received the prize of the Italian company Anicaflash. This company, specializing in the production of advertising trailers for films, has established a special prize for those films that have not yet been in Italian rental. The prize is not the most famous and not the most significant, but still.
In total, the film Once Were Warriors obtained 22 film awards, of which the most significant was the Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montréal World Film Festival.
It so happened that I watched this film for the first time relatively recently, probably about twenty years after its premiere. And while watching, I had a feeling that I was watching a film about our Russian reality. Almost the same landscapes, clearly illustrating the deepest stratification in society. Well, maybe not Moscow, but Russian hinterland. The same Aboriginal tattoos which cover today almost everybody, from small to large. The same assault in families. Only in the film this is shown on the example of the social bottom family. And here, according to publications in the media and on the Internet, representatives of "higher circles of society" are amused by this. In short, the same wildness.
To check whether I was being deceived in my feelings, I decided to see what the most authoritative film critics wrote about this film in their reviews. And I realized that everything that critics wrote about this film 15-20 years ago is absolutely applicable to today's Russian society. Judge.
Roger Ebert, who rated the film with three and a half stars out of 4, wrote in his review: "The director's key achievement is creating a convincing sense of daily life in the household and neighborhood. This is not a narrow drama that focuses on a few themes; it paints a whole style of life, the good times with the bad..."Once Were Warriors" has been praised as an attack on domestic violence and abuse. So it is. But I am not sure anyone needs to see this film to discover that such brutality is bad. We know that. I value it for two other reasons: its perception in showing the way alcohol triggers sudden personality shifts". I want to emphasize that this assessment comes from a knowledgeable person: Roger Ebert himself was treated for alcoholism and managed to defeat this destructive passion.
James Berardinelli, who also rated the film with three and a half stars out of 4 maximum, noted: «Once Were Warriors is centered upon the touchy yet timely topic of domestic violence. It is not, however, merely another "domestic violence motion picture." With its complex cultural backdrop and its stark view of this societal cancer, Once Were Warriors attains a level where it is equally painful and potent.. The critical themes of this movie are universal, even though there is a great deal of background that only a New Zealander (or a student of that country's history) can appreciate. Nevertheless, though many elements of the subtext may be lost to outside viewers, the key issue — the brutal cycle of violence and denial within a family - is brought to the fore in a manner that necessitates no special awareness."
Sergey Kudryavtsev, one of the most respected Russian film critics, noted: "the unique merit of the Tamahori's film is precisely that it, forcing to look without turning away, at the seemingly absolutely hopeless existence of forgotten and rejected by the God, it subtly allows you to feel that all this creepy vibe is surmountable. And in spite of everything, even the most destitute and disbelieving still have the far from illusive hope of getting rid of the dirt and gloom of being on the edge of the abyss. It is not saving at all from running away from a hostile civilization to the original birth away from the city hell. The main thing is to preserve the true human essence and inner greatness. After all, we all once, albeit in the distant past, were valiant warriors, honest and worthy fighters who survived in clashes with the forces of the elements and adverse circumstances. And now, at best, they have turned into rioters for no reason, at worst, into enraged people who senselessly kill each other."
Janet Maslin, The New York Times: "The tough, muscular characters in Lee Tamahori's ferocious "Once Were Warriors" are primed for fighting. And they need no battlefield: their hostilities are played out in the bedroom, in front of the children or in crowded bars. In his visceral first feature, Mr. Tamahori offers social realism with a savage kick, depicting Maori New Zealanders whose ties to their own history have been destroyed. Left floundering in an inhospitable urban world, they have lost touch with their tribal past to become part of a rootless global subculture. The misery seen here would be familiar anywhere. Having said he hoped to make a film that would stand viewers' hair on end, Mr. Tamahori fully realizes that goal. "Once Were Warriors" is a brutally effective family drama. Rough around the edges and crudely obvious at times, it still presents a raw, disturbing story of domestic strife. Only when he tries to look on the bright side does Mr. Tamahori sound false notes." - The New York Times, Feb. 24, 1995
The film by Lee Tamahori impressed not only film critics around the world, but also the audience. 71% of IMDB and Kinopoisk users all over the world gave this film a rating of 8 to 10.
Taking into account the above listed success indicators for the film Once Were Warriors, its rating according to the version of FilmGourmand is 8.188. This allowed it to take 484th Rank in the Golden Thousand.
