Once they were all wars, and then a white man came and turned many Maori into slaves. He took their lands, subjugated them, plundered and corrupted them. About the modern descendants of those proud New Zealand warriors and tells the debut film of Lee Tamahori, a native of New Zealand and hereditary Maori.
However, in the film there is no hint of conflict between Europeans and the local population. In the picture, we see only the consequences of a civilization that has come to this far corner of the planet. Somewhere in the distance there are luxurious neighborhoods and high-rises of Wellington, but on the screen there are only squalid slums full of street gangs, vagrants, drunkards and drug addicts. Among this large dump lives (or rather survives) a full-fledged family - a father, mother and four children of different ages. Once a young Beth escaped from the tribe with her future husband Jake Heck and vowed never to return. The film takes place 20 years later.
Beth is no longer that young and daring beauty, but a tired and battered 40-year-old woman with a tattoo on her chest and a cigarette in her teeth. Life and constant need crushed her like a press, from which she is no longer able to free herself without help or without a strong push.
Jake is a local celebrity, a frequenter of bars, a drunkard and a brawler, every day justifying his nickname Jake Debosh. Under the power of the green serpent completely loses control over himself, he destroys everyone and everyone who falls under his hot hand. And the wife is not the exception, but rather the rule.
As usual, children suffer from the stupidity and vices of parents. The eldest son, who has almost become a local bandit, hates his father and despises his mother. The middle son follows in the footsteps of the eldest and in his 1x-teen years already has problems with the law. The only daughter - a beautiful and clever - like a rose in the middle of a swamp, but she may soon wither, because the future does not promise her anything good in this lost place.
The social drama doesn’t seem to contain anything new. But. A good movie is usually made not by what it is made about, but by how it is made. From the first shots, the director tries to surprise with original solutions. Many scenes are deceptively simple and as if the effect of the 25th frame is deposited in memory. Unusually good soundtrack film, riddled with rock motifs and national melodies, crowned by the hit song Maori band Southside of Bombay “What’s the time Mr Wolf?” And of course, the brilliant duet of Rina Owen – Temuera Morrison, which is dear to look at in the frame, attracts attention like a magnet.
Jake Debosh so generally received the status of a cult character. Invincible and intrepid on the street, he could be the soul of the company when sober, but when his eyes are flooded, do not approach Jake, for he turned into an angry bull, a red rag for which could be anything. Healthy as a buffalo and dumb as an oak tree, he knew the only argument in solving problems - the fist. A vivid illustration of this is the episode when he throws his fists at the tree, sincerely considering him his offender.
As paradoxical as it sounds, but the spirit of war in the film is personified not by the fighter Jake and not his tattooed in the style of Maori eldest son, but outwardly weak housewife Beth. A woman who has endured everything and found the strength to fight, while outwardly courageous husband and son, enjoying their steepness, actually long ago lifted their legs to the top, slowly floating along the flow of life. Down.
Tamahori made an extremely cheap, but really cool film, if you can use the word “cool” to the scenes that permeate with their cruelty and hopelessness and the tension masterfully escalated throughout the film, thanks to which the picture cannot help but catch. With this shrill and powerful picture, he made his way to Hollywood, where he still works successfully.