RM Movie Club #4: Once Were Warriors

[LetMeSleep]

What do you pair this movie with? Popcorn and soda seems inappropriate

Fried kangaroo and meth.

We don't have Kangas here bro!

Sorry, I'll have to admit to stereotyping on this one.

Some lady from up north went to visit Kazakhstan and got stopped at the boarder cause officials there refused to recognise New Zealand as country

I mean, it's pretty much a fake country.

Further complicating matters, the room she was interrogated in had a large map of the world tacked on the wall - but the map didn't include New Zealand.

Wow.

[Simple Torture]

This was quite the way to spend a bright, sunny Friday morning! More thoughts later.

[Simple Torture]

Hey, I watched this!

This was an excellent pick for a film club movie, I think, because it's probably something I never would've picked up on my own otherwise. Not because I would have looked at the cover and said, "Pft, whatever," but because I can't think of how something like this would've crossed my radar. Somewhere deep down inside me, I must have known that New Zealand has a film industry, but I can't think of any work of art or fiction made in NZ that I've ever really come across (Flight of the Conchords doesn't really count since it came through the prism of HBO). Obviously, that was my own bad, but I'm certainly willing to give more Kiwis a try after watching this.

Once Were Warriors also ended up in my wheelhouse since issues of assimilation, colonization, and dominance have been coming up in the literature I've read recently. I'm currently working on a dissertation chapter on Junot Díaz, and my students and I just finished reading him as well. Basically every semester that I teach his short stories, someone says something really awkward about, "Well, you know how it is with Latin American communities in the US..." This can be really awkward when a white kid says it, but more and more my Hispanic students will deploy a line like this when we read passages having to do with domestic violence, alcoholism, sexism, homophobia, misogyny, etc. etc. It can lead to fruitful discussions, though, on how these fractured and violent communities often result from ghettoization, racism, gentrification, and so on. I think it'd be fascinating to pair scenes from this film with Díaz's stories, and I might think of doing it in future semesters.

On the actual movie itself more than just atmosphere: I'd probably give it a 7.5/10 (or an 8.25/11). It was an affecting collection of powerful scenes overall, even if I wasn't really pulled in by the story much. The actors playing Beth, Jake, and Nig were all very good. I have a feeling that some people might consider Jake too cartoony at times, especially when his anger/violence goes from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye due to some insinuated taunt or insult; however, if you have any violent alcoholics in your life, you'll probably agree that it's not exaggerated one bit. Grace is obviously a centrally important character, but I think that actor only did her best work after the sexual assault; there were a couple of times beforehand when her lines came off as over-wrought, but she played simmeringly detached/depressed very well. I wasn't surprised to read that Nig's time in the gang and Noogie's time in the boys' home played bigger roles in the novel the film was based on; there's some interplay between the three ways characters try to hold onto their heritage (Beth's quiet dignity, Nig's gang's different sort of tribalism, the boys' home's use of it as a way to center yourself emotionally and mentally), but I wish there was more of it. The world felt real and lived-in; there's more to be said about the closed spaces throughout (so much takes place indoors, except for a few important scenes). Oh, and also: what great use of music! Loved all of that.

Would like to hear other people's thoughts; I'll stick around in this thread even if there's a new one tomorrow.

[Rangi Guy]

I'm going to get around to watching this again tonight.

Glad you enjoyed it ST - for something slightly lighter in feel - the sequel 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted' is worth a watch too - although not as good as Once Were Warriors

[Jorge]

Tomorrow is supposed to be the next movie pick but since only ST has watched it let's give it another week

[Jorge]

The version Rangi linked to looks really bad. I'm gonna use this torrent, which is a bit better

[lennytheweedwhacker]

next up!

[Jorge]

Movie club is canceled.

[lennytheweedwhacker]

nooooo

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[Jorge]

I was joking but maybe it should be. Seems to be very little interest or participation. This thread has been up for almost 3 weeks and only ST has watched it / shared thoughts on it. I myself have felt how this exercise can make watching a movie feel like a chore.

Maybe this is one of those concepts that sound good in theory but don't translate well into practice. We can keep plugging away with muted enthusiasm or we can just take the L and declare it a failed experiment.

[Rangi Guy]

I watched half of it again. Will hopefully finish it off tomorrow and then post thoughts

[Kaius]

I vote for plugging away with muted enthusiasm.

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[The Argonaut]

I blame Kaius

[Kaius]

I blame Argo

[Rangi Guy]

I vote for plugging away with muted enthusiasm.

I have every intention of chiming in when I can. I was honestly too busy to watch the first flick; I loved ST's pick; and then this one just looks reaaally depressing, and I can't ever find the enthusiasm to watch it. And I think that's fine. We can't expect everyone to watch every movie each week (and I suspect the holiday season will slow things down considerably). But this is still a good idea that I believe has legs.

It's not too depressing. go on - give it a hoon!

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[ABNorman]

Maybe everybody can suggest their movies all at once, then we have an "RM Video Library" for a few months, with one thread to discuss 'em all any time anybody gets round to watching.

[Kaius]

Maybe we should turn it into a tournament.