Once were Warriors?

[sadie_sabot]

Anyone see this? We watched it (on video) last night. Such an intense movie. I couldn't sleep after watching it, and have been thinking about it all day.

[mountain mom]

It truly is an amazing movie. I saw it years ago and it still will come into my mind occasionally.

[newmainer]

Yes, incredible. I watched it after going to New Zealand and really felt sad that while I was there I didn't make more of an effort to learn about Maori culture. have you seen Whale Rider? A good anecdote to Once Were Warriors.

[sadie_sabot]

there are two things about the movie that really strike me.

One is the violence and alcohol. It reminded me of my childhood. the violence was never in my family, just in my community, and the alcohol was so pervasive. growing up in an environment like that isn't good for kids (understatement!)

Teh other thing is that i have so many questions! was the dad in the family also maori? they say he "came from a long line of slaves," what sdid that mean? oh, yeah, so many questions! I would love to watch the movie again (fast forwarding by a few nasty parts) with someone familiar with maori culture and New Zealand history to ask questions of.

I Loved the Whale Rider. beautiful.

[mountain mom]

Originally Posted by sadie_sabot

Teh other thing is that i have so many questions! was the dad in the family also maori? they say he "came from a long line of slaves," what sdid that mean? oh, yeah, so many questions! I would love to watch the movie again (fast forwarding by a few nasty parts) with someone familiar with maori culture and New Zealand history to ask questions of.

I think what that means...correct me if I'm wrong...is that when the white man came to New Zealand they enslaved a large portion of the Maori people. Some then were born into slavary.

[sadie_sabot]

Interesting. so the dad (sorry, I never catch names of movie characters!) comes from a line of folks who had been enslaved, while the mom came from a family that hadn't been and that stayed in touch with their traditional ways of living. I think that's some of what was behind his violence and nastiness to her - there seems to be a thing with men where they want the woman who is "above" them , and then spend the whole relationship trying to beat them down and prove they're actually the bigger, better, etc. So i thought that was a really interesting (although horrible to watch) dynamic, and then also there was the subtext of the dad's whole thing being the result of years of subjugation and oppression. Pointing out the complexities of oppression and how it comes back out.

I also thought it was interesting how the oldest son (oh my, what a hottie!) got into that gang which incorporated parts of Maori culture, and how although it wasn't strictly traditional, it wasn't something that seemed to be looked down upon by the traditional folks.

still thinking about that movie a lot1

By the way, the traditional auntie was also in Whale Rider!

[Tracy]

I saw it years ago. I enjoyed it much.
I think there is a sequel of sorts.....

also, did you know the director of this went on to do...I think...James Bond film?

weird.

anyway, I liked it mucho.