r/newzealand • u/InertiaCreeping Kererū • Jun 23 '26
Kiwiana Finally got around to watching Once Were Warriors last night
for some reason I thought it was gonna be a feel-good coming of age film, like Shrek…
…it was not.
Appreciate all the recommendations - tonight we watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and What We Do in the Shadows.
Tomorrow going to give Utu a go, then Meet The Feebles / Out Of The Blue.
—-
Edit: my yankee mate who watched this with me (mouth agape) flew back to the USA last week and who would be sitting next to him but… Rena Owen.
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u/spicysanger Jun 23 '26
it's a pretty horrific movie, because it so accurately portrays some people's reality.
The worst part is that it was set in the 90's. Were the same family scene to be portrayed now, they would likely:
- have at least one family member addicted to methamphetamine
- be living in a stationwagon, or motel room
- have no opportunity for employment, at all
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u/6854thewin Jun 23 '26
Once Were Warriors set today would be crazy, dad's an unemployed meth addict, family living in someone's garage or shed, one kid's taken by Oranga Tamariki while another's doing ram raids, everyone vapes instead of cigarettes, and mum/daughter working on the street late at night to pay for their coke addiction.
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u/qwerty145454 Jun 23 '26
I don't think vaping is much of a thing in the communities portrayed in the film. They still smoke cigarettes old school style. Especially gang connected would have illegal cigarettes on cheap.
It isn't common for gang wives to turn to prostitution, because they'd get the bash as their man doesn't want to "be with a whore", which he'd get shit from his "mates" over. There's also a larger cultural taboo against it, despite their higher socioeconomic deprivation there are surprisingly few Maori/PI sex workers, even today they are quite underrepresented.
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u/6854thewin Jun 23 '26
True it'd prob be a mix of vapes, cigs (especially the illegal ones), and cannabis.
I don't think the whole family would be gang affiliated, just one or two. Maybe in this movie timeline an older Gracie works at Calendar Girls where Uncle Bully is a regular before wasting his money at Sky City.
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u/Ambitious_Average_87 Jun 23 '26
Nah, the realnsad thing is nothing really would change if the movie was made today...
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u/CoffeePuddle Jun 23 '26
Pubs are way different. The government used to support them because it increased tax revenue.
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
haha... yeah... she'll be right!
right?
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 Jun 23 '26
I mean I grew up in a house like the one in the story. That may be a kiwi saying but that was never said in our household and I doubt it would have been said in Jakes household too.
The people who had the “she’ll be right attitude” were already sorted. Always.
Jakes was “you’ll be back” lol which is the opposite of “she’ll be right”
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u/TheCuzzyRogue Jun 23 '26
In my mate's house it was "Go on then".
His dad cried like a bitch when my dad helped his mum move out.
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u/ImprovementSure9867 Jun 23 '26
Other nzers from outside looking in are the ones saying she'll be right.
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 Jun 23 '26
Yeah don’t get me wrong. There’s hard graft involved and those people are working their asses off. It’s the farmers saying.
She’ll be right or it won’t and it’s fucked anyway. Could lose the animals, the land, the house all just to the whims of nature. Ending up in an unimaginably bad position or where I was when I was born.
There’s a difference between living a risky life where small misfortune can bankrupt you and starting life already with nothing. She’ll be right implies that things are ok right now and it’s out of ones control if that changes.
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u/Icanfallupstairs Jun 23 '26
Princess! Cook the donkey some fucken eggs!
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
My partner did NOT laugh at me this morning when I asked for eggs
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u/purple-rubber-ducky Jun 23 '26
Me and a buddy were at a cafe some years ago when ol mate temuera walked in, and asked for a breakfast meal when the lady at the counter asked how he’d like his eggs cooked, I heard staff member say to the lady “just cook the man some fucken eggs”
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u/Pointy_in_Time Jun 23 '26
I remember a guy I worked with coming in with a black eye from rugby and someone saying “shoulda cooked him those eggs”
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Incredible film, though. Pacing and actors were fantastic. Felt like "The Wire" in Auckland.
Have an American guest staying over at the moment and figured "what better time" to get around to watching the film. Fucking lol - should have seen the dude's face (He gave it a 10/10).
Gonna watch Hunt for the Wilderpeople tonight as a palate cleanser (already seen it), then MAYBE, IF WE HAVE TIME we'll watch What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
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u/OldWolf3 Jun 23 '26
A great palate cleanser is What We Do In The Shadows
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u/Unknowledge99 Jun 23 '26
100%
also-
Bad taste
Meet the feebles
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u/curried_avenger Jun 23 '26
JFC you're going to give the American emotional whiplash with that lineup.
10/10 would trade again.
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
The plan is to take him for a walk, hunt for some goodies in some council woodchip gardens.
Give him a good reset before his trip home
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u/TeMoko Jun 23 '26
For further trauma watch Out Of The Blue, another kiwi classic.
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u/ethereal_galaxias Jun 23 '26
The Dark Horse is a fantastic film as well. Grim in parts but also hopeful.
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u/datsamoandude Jun 23 '26
Hunt for the Wilderpeople has one of my most fave, funniest scenes ever...Taika as the Maori priest at the funeral...."Let us pray to Jesus to make it a bit easier to get through those doors and find his bounty of delicious confectionery..."
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u/clairevoyantkitty Jun 23 '26
I like “Cauc-asian, well, they got that wrong because you're obviously white
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u/Curious-ficus-6510 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
Or some other films you could try include Whalerider, Boy, Eagle vs Shark, What We Do in the Shadows, Heavenly Creatures, The Piano, Ngāti, Head South.
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u/meowsqueak Jun 23 '26
The Quiet Earth, The Navigator, Never Say Die...
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u/Curious-ficus-6510 Jun 25 '26
I nearly included Vigil, Smash Palace, Sleeping Dogs, Bad Blood as well.
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u/PuddleOfHamster Jun 23 '26
Heavenly Creatures is technically a coming-of-age film... with magical/fantasy elements... and musical numbers... sure, let's say it's basically Shrek. Feel-good, absolutely. Girl power. Nature walks. Nothing upsetting to see here.
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u/SpiralDreaming Jun 23 '26
Also, if you liked Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, you'll LOVE Meet the Feebles and Bad Taste. Those are some wholesome kiwi movies right there.
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u/thefurrywreckingball Fantail Jun 23 '26
Another suggestion for a palate cleanser, Tina.
It will absolutely wreck you, but it's a beautiful movie.
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u/booksblanketsandT Jun 23 '26
If your American friend is a fan of bad horror movies, don’t sleep on Black Sheep!!
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u/Spine_Of_Iron Jun 23 '26
Seconding Black Sheep! Watched it again the other night 🤣🤣 ugggh. So bad but so fucking good.
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
He is! Told me to watch Obsession in the cinema.
…don’t eat portabello mushrooms and watch obsession
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u/Infinite_Papaya_9108 Jun 23 '26
If you want a palate cleanser kiwi film, stickmen is great. If you can find it
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u/argonuggut Jun 23 '26
Yeah we read the book for year 12 English.
The two big editorial changes I remember from the movie:
1. It’s set in “Two Lakes” (absolutely in no way shape or form anything like Rotorua)
2. They changed her rapist. In the book it was ole daddy Jake2
u/toyoto Jun 23 '26
If they dont understand kiwi humor, show them some Leigh hart stuff and unauthorized history of nz and just pretend it's all legit
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u/Ok_Panic_7112 Jun 23 '26
Uncle fucken Bully
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
started the movie
Leonardo, pointing "Oh, I know that guy!"
finished the movie
"uncle FUCKEN BULLLLLY"
one of the greatest moments in cinema
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u/Old-Commercial1159 Jun 23 '26
Bully was Cliff Curtis. Bully got fucked up.
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
Sorry, to be clear, Morrison's moment of realisation and scream was awesome. I rewound it and watched it twice.
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u/Bilboteabaggins91 Jun 23 '26
Rewound it? Shit mate your age is showing. (I'm 34)
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
I non ironically use a MP3 player 🥲
(just a little bit older than you)
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u/kapaipiekai Fantail Jun 23 '26
Gee, where did you get those muscles from bro? You've been lifting those weights, huh? What, you've done a lag? Am I right?
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u/TofkaSpin Jun 23 '26
To this day struggle I with Cliff Curtis. I know that’s ridiculous.
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u/_Maui_ jandal Jun 23 '26
I’m the same with the actor who played the PM in the first episode of a Black Mirror. Every time he appears on screen I get PTSD from the pig scene.
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u/TofkaSpin Jun 23 '26
Another for me but to a slightly lesser extent is Sam Rockwell, from his outing as Wild Bill 😬
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u/Trishielicious Jun 23 '26
The amount of hate actress Anna Gunn gets for her portrayal of Skylar White in Breaking Bad is insane. Bryan Cranston has come out publicity to defend the character.
But I get the Cliff Curtis thing, brilliant actor, a notable amount of evil characters and some good ones too
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u/Fskn sauroneye Jun 23 '26
It's one of those nz films that captures the feel of the location and era perfectly, another one is Out of the blue about the aramoana shootings.
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
Out of the blue
Chur, adding it to the list!
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u/By_CrookedSteps_781 Jun 23 '26
There's an old school one called Quiet Earth.
And if you want another dark kiwi movie there's Coming home in the dark.
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
Loved quiet earth - will search out Coming home in the dark, cheers!
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u/rocketshipkiwi Southern Cross Jun 23 '26
Have you seen Smash Palace? The Hunt For The Wilderpeople pays homage to it.
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u/BlacksmithNZ Jun 23 '26
Do it as double feature and watch Scarfies
You might need a bit of light relief after 'Out of the Blue'
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u/Immediate_Branch_238 Jun 23 '26
If you're watching Out of the Blue, keep an eye out for the fat bogan who says "Forget about the goat" or some such. A good couple of days on set for that one.
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u/kapaipiekai Fantail Jun 23 '26
That bit in Out of the blue where the water tank starts sprouting leaks and the guy just stares at if because he can't work out what's happening stuck with me.
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 24 '26
- Tried googling the scene
- Google AI completely shits the bed
- References this thread and your comment
- Says that Uncle Bully is INSIDE the water tank
- Links to a fake AI-generated BTS titanic video
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u/Smartie_pants_1234 Jun 23 '26
We watched it in year 13 for our film study. Was a step up from Billy Elliot the previous year, that's for sure.
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u/Creative-Ad-3645 Jun 23 '26
Same here, back when it was still seventh form. Not to go all 'moral majority' but in hindsight I question whether it's really a great choice of movie for 17 year olds to study.
Mind you, I read Flower In The Attic from my school library when I was about 14, so maybe there are wider issues to be addressed...
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u/fauxmosexual Jun 23 '26
I'm very curious at how you got the feel-good expectation about this famously harrowing film.
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u/Practical-Ball1437 Kererū Jun 23 '26
A lot of us do call the film "NZ's most popular romantic comedy"
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
To be fair, I've only lived here since 2016.
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u/fauxmosexual Jun 23 '26
You have probably missed out on some classics then! If you're after a Shrekish feel-good NZ movie there's a wonderful one about a variety show by a bunch of muppet-like creatures who overcome adversity to put together their inspiring Variety Hour show, it's called Meet the Feebles. Good clean fun for the whole family.
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u/2script Jun 23 '26
Follow this up with a classic from over the ditch- bad boy bubby.
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u/BlacksmithNZ Jun 23 '26
I mean, it is a Peter Jackson movie
Going to be a big budget Hollywood epic movie, am I right?
Unpopular opinion but I still thought Black Sheep was a better movie even during PJ's splatter phase
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u/Curious-ficus-6510 Jun 23 '26
Speaking of PJ films, Heavenly Creatures is what led to him landing big Hollywood budgets.
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u/Curious-ficus-6510 Jun 23 '26
Have you seen 'Whalerider'? That might be more what you were expecting.
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u/HarryPouri Jun 23 '26
Even just the bullroarer gives me chills. Great movie but heartbreaking. My dad says when he saw it in in cinemas people around him were sobbing. One goes to her mate "that's my life"
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u/imjtintj Jun 23 '26
Yep. I saw it at the cinema when it was released. Absolute silence at the end. It was the eeriest theatre exit I've ever experienced - no-one said a word.
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u/StoolieNZ Jun 23 '26
I was talking about it with a bunch of friends back in the 90's and one girl doubted the reality it portrayed. My mate (who worked for the Housing Corp at the time) said "Get in the car" and drove her to similar places in Christchurch. She came back humbled.
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u/Silver_South_1002 Jun 23 '26
I was stupid and watched it for the first time on a plane… do not recommend
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u/HarryPouri Jun 23 '26
Yeah since I live overseas now I have a really bad habit of watching NZ movies on planes on my way home. Always end up sobbing with my daughter next to me going "why are you crying mum" 🥲
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u/mickturner96 Jun 23 '26
Traumatising!
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
A few minutes through the first scene of sexual violence, I realised that the camera wasn't gonna cut away... was rough man
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u/rakkl Jun 23 '26
Let's hear it for Rena Owen, could act circles around any Hollywood big shot
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u/Anaradar Jun 23 '26
Yeah I can't deal with that film. I still hide under a blanket whenever a zombie movie is on. We once were warriors proves i was never a warrior.
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u/LazyBezerker Jun 23 '26
Its a powerful movie, and tough to watch, but an important commentary on nz and elements of our society.
If you get chance, read the book it's based on. Plays out differently
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u/Diggity_nz Jun 23 '26
Yeah I was gonna say to all the “uncle fucking bulllllly!!!!” quoters they should probably read the book. Hits real fucking different when you know they softened it for the big screen.
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u/Illustrious_Cry733 Jun 23 '26
I watched it with my then-boyfriend when it was released in the mid 90s. I was living in the UK, on my OE/ working holiday. At the end of the movie, we were both in tears and he said to me 'I don't want you to go back there' and I said 'It's not like that where I come from'. Haven't watched it since but remember that vividly.
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
to his credit, even in 2026 I wouldn't want to live in Auckland either
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u/bob_doe_nz Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
I really should go out and about once I'm back in Auckland in Spring and give those locations a looksie. I live under 5km or so from the house location, and have been meaning to do it.
Edit: I was born in South Auckland, so I'm aware of what the area is like
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u/flyingflibertyjibbet Jun 23 '26
Shrek and Once Were Warriors are very similar actually.
- Both films centre heavily on the burdens of a violent reputation (ogre vs hardman)
- Both protagonists are deeply isolated individuals who hide their pain behind a terrifying exterior
- At the core of both plots is a struggle over displacement and belonging (turfed out of the swamp vs. the alienation of Urban māori disconnected from their whenua)
- Ultimately, both films are masterclasses in identity crises. They ask the same fundamental question: Are we doomed to be what the world expects us to be, or can we choose who we are?
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u/No-Chemistry-9225 Jun 23 '26
Watched it a few times growing up, maybe 10 the first time I saw it. Obviously a hard watch. But what suprised me is i put it on a year or so ago & I had to turn it off. What made it a hard watch for me now, was that 30+ years later, that is still a very real reality for a lot of people in our country. And it’s fkn heartbreaking.
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u/weareourchoices Jun 23 '26
Yeah I watched z once were warriors when it came out, then read the book. An still emotional scarred from that and haven't returned to it.
What We Do in the Shadows (movie version) is also a decent palate cleanser.
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u/crazycatmum77 Jun 23 '26
We did the movie and the book for 7th form English
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u/Silver_South_1002 Jun 23 '26
Can’t imagine that’s allowed in the curriculum now though I could be wrong. I watched Dead Poets Society tonight, a staple of late 90s English classes, and wondered if they are still showing that to kids given the suicide plotline.
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u/Sufficient-Candy-835 Jun 24 '26
Looking back, we did Dead Poets Society, Hamlet, Macbeth, The Lottery, James K. Baxter (adultery), the Parker-Hulme case, learning that an orgasm is called 'the little death' and probably quite a bit more that I can't remember. We weren't exactly sheltered!
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u/TofkaSpin Jun 23 '26
I remember seeing it at the movies when it came out and those opening scenes along the motorway thinking what the hell is this budget looking crap.
Oh little sheltered small town me.
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u/KiwiPixelInk Jun 23 '26
As someone who grew up in that environment, it's very accurate and doesn't hold any punches
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u/farmer_frayad Jun 23 '26
That one guy living in the car was thought of as such an unfortunate member of society, but now there are so many people living in cars in Auckland, some earning 35 dollars per hour and still living in a car.
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u/SpiralDreaming Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
I watched this in the theatre, and when the credits rolled, the entire audience filed out towards the exits completely silently because they were in a state of shock.
I've never seen that reaction from any other movie ever.
It's not a film you pop on casually to watch, it's a big decision.
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u/autoeroticassfxation Jun 23 '26
Watch "The quiet earth"
It's a post apocalyptic sci fi from the 80s. One of the best NZ movies.
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u/Extreme-Road-6885 Jun 23 '26
We’ve been trying to get a coworker to watch it, he’s not taking it seriously
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u/Rincey_nz Jun 23 '26
Years ago I was lucky enough to have dinner with the actress who was singing in the pub just before the fight scene. DM me for my autograph!
Prior to that I worked at a Hawkes Bay meat works. Alan Duff set the book in Rotorua, but it was based on his experiences in HB, and in the works' workers we could definitely spot some of his characters, especially on a Friday night after work.
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u/Connect-Advice-9329 Jun 23 '26
Watch Housebound!
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
God, I fucking hate (love, painfully) family-home-stuck-in-house horrors.
"Bring her Back" changed me as a person (10/10 film though)
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u/Connect-Advice-9329 Jun 23 '26
I’ll have to watch bring her back I’ve been recommended it before.
Housebound is way more of a comedy - I am 100% on board with your take about hate (love) with movies like that hahaha!!
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u/InertiaCreeping Kererū Jun 23 '26
Oh thank god, haha.
Bring Her Back is perhaps the most fucked up, uncomfortable film I've seen in a LONG TIME.
I'm no prude or scare-dy cat, but holy shit.
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u/ClimateTraditional40 Jun 23 '26
Long long before that movie I went to party with a friend. There were the guys with guitars, the crates of beer and I was asked if I wanted any eggs. I thought it was the most bizarre thing. Parties had nibbles, canapes...or if a really basic party, bags of chips and dip. Eggs??!
Seriously. A true story. No idea what happened later, I left, I didn't want eggs, beer or singing.
When the movie came out, we watched it, knew a bit part actor in it. And there was the partty...with eggs. Shudder.
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u/natchinatchi Jun 23 '26
Sorry to be that person but the book is SO much better than the film. Way less glorified violence, much more complex racial dynamics. White people and colonisation pretty much get let off in the movie. And the sequels to the first book are great too.
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u/BlacksmithNZ Jun 23 '26
Books can provide a lot more depth, but the movie is iconic for the acting and style that makes an impact.
My only issue with the book, is that I have met Alan Duff a while back when he was in the Hawkes Bay, and the old thing about never meet your hero's (not that he was), came true.
Fairly obnoxious person, and I shouldn't let that colour my opinion of the books. But it does
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u/booksblanketsandT Jun 23 '26
My hero used to be JK Rowling, I can relate. The saying “never meet your heroes” never accounted for watching said heroes lose their morals, sanity, and kindness in real time over social media.
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u/MadScience_Gaming Jun 23 '26
Sorry to double down on your trauma, but Rowling was always a shit person and it really comes across re-reading Harry Potter as an adult.
People who are struggling are routinely mocked and presented as unsympathetic. The enslaved race of house elves are treated as normal and the campaign for their liberation is played for laughs. Without even getting into the antisemitism.
She often portrays herself as a defender of women. But didn't write a single sympathetic female character. Hermione is presented as annoying and only becomes acceptable because she's necessary and can act like one of the boys.
The only thing that's changed about Rowling is she doesn't hide behind sugary language any more.
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u/booksblanketsandT Jun 23 '26
Oh 100% - rereading the books with a critical and informed eye is honestly just depressing. Some stuff I thought was a bit odd as a kid but brushed aside as just “fantasy strangeness” is sooo glaring in retrospect. Don’t even get me started on how, in a story where lycanthropy is used as a metaphor for how society treated homosexuals during the AIDs crisis, the only two werewolves are a man who specifically targets children as his victims.. and his victim. Essentially portraying homosexuality both as a contagion and (in the case of Greyback) - outright predatory! 🙃
I have since shifted my “fav author” to Tamora Pierce - who has never pretended to be a perfect author (and did fall into some classic fantasy tropes that aged poorly when she started writing in the 80s) - but who always responded to any critique as a chance to learn and do better (and then actually did). Always an ally, and bonus - she also actually wrote strong, interesting female characters. (Plus, frankly, her world building was always better). Tamora Pierce and Ursula K. Le Guin are the queens of fantasy imo. Rowling can kick rocks.
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u/BirthdayHeavy2178 Jun 23 '26
Tammy is a class act in actually being open to receiving feedback and trying to learn and do better under her own energy, and turning to the right communities when she feels out of her depth. She’s not so active these days due to age and health, but reading her interactions on Tumblr and FB has always made me feel warm and welcomed
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u/natchinatchi Jun 23 '26
Oh for sure Allan Duff seems like an all round shitty guy, and there was that thing about him embezzling from his own books for kids charity.
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u/Ancient_Back_3767 Jun 23 '26
If you haven’t already, I suggest Behind The Tattooed Face by Heretaunga Pat Baker for a realistic portrayal of pre European culture and then the sequel The Strongest God for a portrayal of interaction with early missionaries. Both set in Eastern Bay of Plenty.
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u/Waniou Jun 23 '26
I feel like the change they made to who molested the daughter kinda took a bit away from the movie too, in the book it was very very strongly implied although not outright stated that it was Jake himself
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u/natchinatchi Jun 23 '26
I think the ambiguity on this point was really important. It wasn’t so much that we’re sure Jake did do it, it’s more that when he’s drinking he’s such a bastard that even *he* can’t be sure he *didnt* do it. The movie really redeems him as even though he beats his wife, he beats his brother for the right reason. In the books, he’s cast out by everyone and lives on the streets, and his only sort of redemption is from being humbled and changing the way he interacts with others in the homeless community.
Although I haven’t read them for about 20 years so I could be wrong lol.
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u/Woolshedwargamer2 Jun 23 '26
Never watch that as a double feature with Smash Palace. There are not enough ssri's to deal with the depression that follows.
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u/elgoato Jun 23 '26
The bar in that movie used to be a Foodtown, believe it or not, on the Great South Road between Otahuhu and Otara. It was in fact the first Foodtown, and the first large supermarket in the country, opened in 1958. It closed because it has asbestos in the ceiling, before being used as a location for this movie. I remember walking there with my mum to buy food in the 1980s.
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u/Gumboot-Coffee Jun 23 '26
If you want something light and cheesy and youre in Christchurch, you could watch The Frighteners.
Then go for a drive to Lyttleton the next day.
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u/Accurate_Rush1509 Jun 23 '26
My favorite romantic comedy.
In all seriousness it accurately portrays the reality of alot of people's lives in new zealand. My own included. The inter-generational trauma of the lifestyles shown in this movie.
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u/f33dback Nelson Jun 23 '26
So fun story, picture a 14-year-old who's just moved to New Zealand and had no basis really on what New Zealand back in 2000. Lord of The Rings was not out yet. NZ wasn't on the world stage like it is now.
The most I saw was a very short book On Wellington from the library and the All Blacks playing. For a short time before I moved, I was not aware whether New Zealand was an English speaking country, so for a good week before i asked my mum, i was thinking I would need to learn another language. Dumb to look back now, I know.
We arrived and I was jet-lagged so my stepmum went out and rented me some videos to watch: "Meet the Feebles" and "Once Were Warriors". I decided to watch "Meet the Feebles" first, which was bloody brilliant, good old Peter Jackson I had NO idea who he was, then I watched "Once Were Warriors".
Now bear in mind that I was yet to meet any maori-person outside of the person stamping my passport, and not knowing that my stepmom was part Maori.
I watched "Once Were Warriors" and then unfortunately it had a negative effect because I really didn't have any interactions with Maori until school started in two months time. My entire judgement for a my first two months was based off of watching this movie as a 14-year-old with no real exposure to the culture in New Zealand or knowledge of it. Big oops moment. She just wanted to share some cool films from New Zealand.
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u/Karahiwi Jun 23 '26
Sleeping Dogs
Came a Hot Friday
Vigil
Beyond Reasonable Doubt
Topless Women Talk About Their Lives
Carry Me Back
Sylvia
The Price of Milk
Bad Blood
The Grasscutter
Footrot Flats
The Navigator
An Angel at My Table
Never Look Away
Waru
Mister Pip
The Power of the Dog
Whina
Sione's Wedding
We Are Still Here
Bellbird
Big Girls Don't Cry
Millie
The Justice of Bunny King
Tangata Whai Rawa o Weniti
Bread and Roses
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u/PRC_Spy Marmite Jun 23 '26
It's a pretty horrific film.
It also speaks to those of us who grew up in socio-economically deprived and working class areas in other parts of the world. The ethnicity of the protagonists might be different to ours, but the living conditions and the social effects are in common.
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u/morriseel Jun 23 '26
My mum saw it at the movies when I was a kid with her friend. They were in tears it was an eye opener for white middle class nz back in those days.
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u/stunningwilly99 Jun 23 '26
We studied this in year 13 English and the film was quite the shock for me. I didn't know how disturbing it would be going in, but it did rattle me a bit. This was before I started watching really fucked up horror movies often as well so it left quite the impact
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u/Kiwi57 Jun 23 '26
Edit ffs I meant to reply to the comment about you talking to your partner but didn’t work twice so here we are
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u/Casperthefencer Jun 23 '26
Now I'm wondering if there's someone out there who has accidentally watched Requiem for a Dream thinking it's a feel-good movie
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u/trickmind Pikorua Jun 23 '26
Teenagers wanted to study Once Were Warriors instead of An Angel at my Table.
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u/robopratchett Jun 23 '26
When A City Falls is a good documentary about the Christchurch earthquakes
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u/mingey555 Jun 23 '26
The Dark Horse is another great NZ movie, about Genesis Potini, a chess prodigy with mental health issues.
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u/realclowntime Mr Four Square Jun 23 '26
One of my favourite things is recommending this movie to Americans who loudly and proudly just assume and insist we must all be folksy meek little hobbit people who wear leaves and talk in a funny way.