Once Were Warriors is a 1994 New Zealand tragic drama film based on New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling 1990 first novel. The film tells the story of the Heke family, an urban Māori whānau living in South Auckland, and their problems with poverty, alcoholism, and domestic violence, mostly brought on by the patriarch, Jake. It explores the detrimental effects of the colonisation of New Zealand suffered by Māori, and the survival of Māori culture against all odds.
The film was directed by Lee Tamahori, written by Riwia Brown, and stars Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison and Cliff Curtis. It became the highest-grossing film of all-time in New Zealand, and has won numerous awards.
Plot
Beth leaves her small Māori village and, much to her parents' chagrin, marries Jake "The Muss" Heke. After eighteen years, they live in an unkempt state house in South Auckland and have five children. Their interpretations of life and being Māori are tested.
Jake is fired from his job, but remains satisfied with receiving unemployment benefit and spending most days getting drunk at a nearby pub with his friends. He shows his violent streak by savagely beating a muscular patron who dares disrupt a female singer's performance. He often invites crowds of friends from the bar to his home for drunken parties. When his wife "gets lippy", he brutally beats her in front of the group, who are too intimidated to interfere. Beth turns to booze when things go wrong, and exhibits angry outbursts and occasional violence of her own on a smaller scale. Her children fend for themselves, resignedly cleaning the blood-streaked house after their father beats their mother.
Nig, the eldest son of the Heke family, moves out to join a gang whose rituals include getting facial tattoos. He undergoes an initiation beating, passes and is then embraced as a new brother. Nig cares about his siblings but despises his father; he is angered when his mother is beaten but does not intervene. Nig's younger brother Mark, aka "Boogie", is placed in a foster home as a ward of the state due to his parents' home life. Jake is unconcerned and hopes the experience will toughen him up. Despite his initial anger, Boogie finds a new niche for himself after the foster home's manager, Mr. Bennett, helps him embrace his Māori heritage.
Grace, Jake and Beth's 13-year-old daughter, keeps a journal in which she chronicles events, as well as stories she tells her younger siblings. Her best friend is a homeless boy named Toot, who lives in a wrecked car. She dreads a future she believes is inevitable and is constantly reminded of getting married and playing the role of a wife, which she believes comprises catering to a husband's demands and enduring beatings. She dreams of living an independent and single life.
Grace is raped by Uncle Bully, a friend of her father. She falls into a deep depression and seeks support from Toot, with whom she smokes marijuana for the first time. Toot kisses her but she reacts violently and storms out, believing he is "just like the rest of them". Confused, Grace eventually goes home to an angry Jake with his friends. Bully asks for a goodnight kiss to test his power over her. She refuses and Jake sees it as a sign of disrespect; he rips her journal in two and nearly beats her. Beth returns home from searching for Grace, and then screams hysterically after finding her daughter has hanged herself from a tree branch in the backyard.
Jake selfishly deals with the tragedy by going to the pub while the rest of his family takes Grace's body to a tangihanga. Beth stands up to him for the first time when he refuses to let her be taken to the marae. The film cross-cuts between the mourning, Jake's drinking and the family on the marae. Boogie impresses Beth with his Māori singing at the funeral, and Toot says his goodbyes, telling Grace the gentle kiss he gave her the last time he saw her was a gesture meant only to confirm their mantra 'best friends for life'. Boogie reassures Toot that Grace loved him, and Beth invites him to live with them.