Rating: 
Summary: Once We Were Warriors
Review: I work in a drug and alcohol rehab. I use this as a treatment film. There are so many issues, known to my clients within this film, it sparks or triggers deeper issues for these clients to process. They relate to the life style and are able to observe the gamet of difficulties which go along with a alcoholic and drug addicted lifestyle. This film definately holds your interest the entire time. The subject matter is brutal but realistic. It deals with such issues as, alcohol,drug use, unemployment, domestic violence, teen gangs, teen crime, sexual molestation, teen suicide, and recovery of one families self-esteem and determination. I have never viewed a film which stirs such emotion. This is evident in every group I have shown it to. I recommend this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Often brutal, but always moving
Review: This film is not for the faint hearted or squeamish. It is brutal, cruel, and downright violent, especially in its portrayal of domestic abuse. Rena Owen gives a superb performance as the wife of a habitually violent husband who turns a blind eye to her man's inability to control his temper or provide for his family. However her world is steadily crumbling around her ears, and tragic change is in the air. Her family is disintegrating. One of her son's is already in prison; the other is about to join a gang. Her eldest daughter Grace is a gifted young woman but the atmosphere at home is crippling her, and she is soon to be victim of a vicious assault by a friend of her father's. Unable to cope the young girl commits suicide but she leaves a record of the assault in her diary. And in doing so sets off a chain of events that will result in her mother striking out and turning her back on a life of abuse that she and her children have suffered for so long. This is a film about a family at war with itself and within society. Set in New Zealand with a mainly Maori cast it shows life at its rawest and most debased, but all the time hope shines through, and a young woman remembers when her people "once were warriors" and not just the dregs of an indifferent society. Despite the violence this film is beautifully crafted, well written and totally believable. Hold your breath for the scene when Grace's father goes on the rampage, it has to be seen to be believed. A fantastic film that is a testament not only to life in New Zealand but also in other supposed civilised countries.
Rating: 
Summary: too close to home...
Review: Being a kiwi any comment i say hereafter may be taken with a grain of salt so be warned. Make no mistake this is a superbly crafted domestic drama of which all involved have done themselves proud. A sad homily of domestic violence and brutality too often prevalent in the ghettoes & slums of our worlds major cities. In this case set in south Auckland, NZ. The anti hero Jake is married to the loyal and long suffering Beth. They have two sons, who are well on their way to emulating their fathers exploits and a daughter, the gentle Grace who is literate and innocent. One senses that Jake is a good and decent man with an honour code of his own. That in an idealistic world he would do the right thing by his family and prove himself a worthy role model for his children. Unfortunately his drunken binges fill him with irrational rages which he takes out in graphic violence upon his family and especially Beth his long suffering partner. Blame it on the alcohol, the working class poverty, cultural brainwashing or what have you. It is all endemic of a cycle of violence which for Jake and Beth ends one night with a catalytic tragedy of his own making. Life will never be the same. Enough said.Outsiders perhaps should be aware that though the violence depicted in this film is not indicative of the majority of maori families in this country the statistics show that it is prevalent enough to figure significantly elsewhere in our courts, jails and psychiatric institutions. Alan Duff writes a good script here giving all the best lines to Beth played with grittty realism by Rena Owen. Lee Tamahori goes to extra lengths to capture the dullness and monotony of life in a typical NZ state housing area, as he does with the home of the heke family. Too close to home I thought.
Rating:
Summary: This movie was da bomb-it was off tha heezay fo sheezay!
Review: This movie is packed with suspense, and drama and will leave you breathless, and begging for more. It has good talent (New Zealand's best)like Rena Owen(who plays a strong-willed mother), and Temeura Morrison (who plays an alcoholic, abusive father) who plays the role of Jake Heke, a father who seeks revenge for the rape of his daughter. This movie realistically portrays the modern, dysfuntional family. I highly suggest you watch it! Polynesian power all the way!
Rating:
Summary: Must See for Action and Cultural Differences: R rated
Review: This is a must see but not for the faint hearted. There is lots of brutality and raw emotion...It is full of violence, sex, swearing and drunkeness. The actors and actresses all play their roles beautifully and are very convincing. Jake's character is superbly portrayed. But, the wife is the star. Few actresses could have handled her role as well as the person selected. I rate this a 5 for those who like to see different cultures, drama, action and raw emotion exposed at virtually every turn while the love found in long married couples who have gone through much also shows, most through physical ways. This movie is not for the faint-hearted and some may turn away.
Rating:
Summary: If you have to see one film...
Review: If anybody asked me to name the ten best films I know I would probably give differnt answers at differnt times. However, if I had to name the one film that made the greatest immpression on me I would not hesitate to name this one. There are films so brilliantly made you cannot help but love them (Kieslowskis "Blue"), others are funny ("Living in Oblivion"), modern ("Matrix") or any of a thousand differnt qualities. "Once were warriors" has exellent acting, directing, cast and so on, but what truly makes it great is the raw emotion it manages to express. I remember sitting in my chair shaking with fury (anger simply does not describe the emotion) over the injustice of the scene were Grace fetches a glass of water, I almost cried over the scene with the tree and the rope and had difficulty remaining seated to what followed the notebook beeing glued together. I live in antipode of the set, in a completly different situation and society but the story still touches me deeply. I recomend differnt films to different people, with this one exeption. This is a film I think everybody should watch and consider.
Rating:
Summary: An absolute must see.
Review: There are few films that have affected me the first time I saw them as strongly as Once Were Warriors--Reservoir Dogs and Taxi Driver come to mind and this film stands right there with those two powerful films. Maybe that's the best word to describe this film, powerful. Lee Tamahori brilliantly shows us life in a poverty-afflicted area of New Zealand with which I am wholly unfamiliar. This film makes Menace to Society look benign in comparison. The cross-cultural presentation (who'd have thought? In New Zealand?) makes this version of events all the more interesting, and memorable. The local actors are superbly cast, their performances strong and complimentary. Tamahori directs the violence with symphonic brilliance-counterbalancing the overt action with some softer, more subtle and introspective regards. If you have not seen this movie I can imagine none that would be a better one to take a chance on. Extreme violence, rape, and adult situations means Once Were Warriors is not for all tastes.
Rating:
Summary: Been there, lived that!
Review: While residing in a domestic violence shelter, for a topic of discussion, we residents were shown this video. The saddest part is that with the exception of the death of the daughter, this was an exact carbon copy of my life; the constant broken promises, the lies,the tolerance and participation, and finally, the reality check. This movie was a premonition of my life to come, if I stayed married and with my husband. God bless the writers, directors, and actors for telling the ugly truths about domestic violence. God truly works in mysterious ways! I only wish my ex-husband would see this --- he still drinks, drugs, and has custody of his son!
Rating:
Summary: Superb acting and a point well made
Review: It isn't hard to see why this movie garnered so many kudos after its release. The acting is superb. (Note: Temeura Morrison later stated that he was "scarred" for quite a while emotionally and mentally after playing Jake.) The unexcelled acting in AND the directing of this film, in this viewer's opinion, show the exact nature of family violence more clearly than other presentation in any media ever has. At first I was unwilling to see another film dealing with the subject, especially since I the results of domestic violence almost daily on my job. Now I say that if you watch only one film on the matter in your life, make it this one. For an American viewer, the fact that all the action takes place in Auckland, New Zealand helps give the distance needed for an honest perspective on the theme. Then the highly skilled actors (may we see more of all of them!)play the story out as it happens to thousands of families all over the world, totally stripping domestic violence of any excuse to be. By the heart-rending and horrific end of the movie there can be no doubt in anyone's mind that neither substance abuse, cultural conditioning, disenfranchised cultures, poverty nor a host of other things often invoked as "reasons" justify turning one's household into a war zone. Most family violence perpetrators are not hardcore psychopaths; they are "Jakes", and they have no excuse for what they do to their families. A beautiful film that makes its point without resulting to melodrama and sensationalism. It's a credit to all involved with the production that we look in on the lives of one family in crisis and realize, knowing that this scene is repeated thousands of time daily worldwide, the ultimate devastation brought about by "routine" family violence. A brilliant presentation. A "must see."
Rating:
Summary: Captivating... haunting
Review: This movie was suggested to me - the acting was superb, the emotions, feelings the actors put out were heart wrenching. after watching this movie I passed it onto 2 co-workers and I watched it for the second time, and found it just as captivating as the first time. what talent is seen in this film to show us lifes reality and what it can do for and to the human spirit. a positive film in this age of lost souls.
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