It was 2014, and for some reason or other, I was spending yet another year of my life in Iraq. And then one day, out of the blue, I learned that my employer would be sending me on to New Zealand for our next engagement.
Now, the memories from way back then are a little bit hazy— as I recall, it was a somewhat chaotic time for the traveling circus that pays my bills. But one thing I remember clearly, was that shortly after I’d managed to locate my future host country on a map, I also happened to bump into a gentleman from Australia.
It was one of those awkward work interactions— the kind of brief encounter that only happened because our jobs had placed us in the same point in space and time for a few short minutes. Small talk seemed appropriate, but after we’d exhausted the usual comments on the weather (hot), I mentioned that we’d be neighbors soon, since my family and I were to move ‘down under’.
Now I should pause here to note that it’s a very common occurrence for denizens of the Northern hemisphere to get those two countries confused. Of course, now I know that Australia and New Zealand are actually separated by the Tasman Sea… (Geography matters, kids!) …but it’s good to know that I’m not the only person who’s ever confused the two countries’ Olympic teams:
And even though I only met this gent for a few minutes, I’ll always be grateful for his film recommendation. See, after going off on a slightly bigoted rant about how “true-blooded Aussies” were an entirely different race of people than native New Zealanders, this fellow told me that if I ever really wanted to understand “those people”, then I needed to watch a movie called “Once Were Warriors”.
Racial undertones aside, the man’s passion for cinema was undeniable. But when Abdul, my pirated DVD guy, finally came through with a copy of the movie, I just wasn’t prepared for what I was about to watch.
See, like most other Westerners, I had this mental image of “clean, green, New Zealand”. A country that existed as some kind of a paradise on Earth, solely for the benefit of us tourists. A magical country, one where men and hobbits coexist in peace and harmony, and where pods of Orca whales float their way through the capital city.
As an outsider, I knew nothing about New Zealand’s downsides— thorny social problems, like pervasive homelessness, or widespread alcoholism. And just like anywhere else, these problems are frequently experienced by lower-income populations— such as a large number of the country’s Maori people.
“Once Were Warriors” is the story of the Heke family, who live in a rough neighborhood outside Auckland. Beth, a housewife, is descended from a proud line of Maori warriors, although her family disowned her when she married “Jake the Muss”— an tough-guy alcoholic, who’s prone to violent outbursts. The family home is a run-down townhouse in a government-funded housing project, where the Heke children are struggling with a wide variety of their own problems.
Just in case you’re inclined to watch this film, I should warn you that it’s not the best choice for family movie night. The Heke family goes through a number of tough situations, including domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, and sexual assault. This movie is a gritty and unvarnished glimpse into the struggles of the less-privileged, and a few parts are extremely tough to sit through, but it’s definitely worth the effort. Plenty of Kiwis agree with me— in 2014, twenty years after it was released, “Once Were Warriors” was recognized as the best New Zealand film of all time.
It’s an iconic film— so much so, that many people don’t realize it was actually based on a novel!
“Once Were Warriors” is a story that could only have been written by someone who’s experienced that world first-hand. The author, Mr. Alan Duff, is a journalist who grew up in the city of Rotorua. When his first novel was published in 1990, Mr. Duff openly admitted that his inspiration came from real people in his hometown. The main character, “Jake the Muss”— the “Muss” is short for “muscles”— can be a popular, even lovable person, as long as he’s not drinking. On Friday nights, though, the Heke family cowers in fear of his violent and unpredictable outbursts.
Duff’s novel grew to become a trilogy, a series which continued the family’s story, including the eventual redemption of Jake the Muss. As for the movie, “Once Were Warriors” remains the highest-grossing film in New Zealand’s history, beating out even “Jurassic Park”. The film has held up remarkably well over the years, and critics continue to examine the film’s impact today. It’s almost as if the country of New Zealand had an opportunity to look at itself in a mirror, and it didn’t like everything that it saw. And years later, actor Temuera Morrison even began to disavow his starring role by speaking out about the impact of alcoholism and domestic violence on Maori communities.
No way around it— whether you’re reading the book or watching the movie, “Once Were Warriors” is an extremely challenging story.
But then again— isn’t that just what a great story should be?