Watch Once Were Warriors For Free

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Ask me to name a favorite movie and this one is in my top 10 if not my number #1. Can't watch it enough. Brutal. Powerful and Emotional!

"It's just the way things are," admits Beth Heke after another one of her drunken husband's beatings that has left her with a black eye that would do more harm than good if she was to show up at the court proceedings that will decide if her son Boogie is safe enough to live in the household. The sad reality of Once Were Warriors is that we feel this is a regular occurrence, and that the members of the Heke family have come to expect these incidents and normalise them within their daily routine, even as no wife should ever have to endure such things and no child should ever have to listen to them. The film's opening serves as the beginning of another cycle. Beth is a mother that is still fiercely beautiful, but perhaps has been weathered and aged by the torment she has had to endure. Is there a hint of this in the smile as she sees Jake come home? Rena Owen hides it very well, as if she is hopeful that today is the day things will change. The film also serves as a catalyst point for each of the older Heke children, and the direction in which they are headed. The viewer is made invested with each of Nig, Grace and Boogie's journeys, as Beth desperately tries to ensure that they are not caught up in their father's wrath like she is continually. Grace's arc is the pivotal point which shatters the cycle, but it is sad that it takes her suicide to finally set it in motion. Nig, the eldest son and the one who most physically resembles his hulking, brutish father, joins a gang and takes part in a violent initiation ceremony...in some alternate timeline it seems almost certain that he end up in the same situation as his father does. But he gains the strength and resilience to stand up to him, instead of merely walking away in disgust. Boogie's story-line is the least developed of them all - there are vague aspirations about the Maori culture and a spirited haka which could have unearthed more pathos had this aspect been better explored. The strength of Once Were Warriors, and what elevates its solid script into emotional harrowing events with powerful impact is the performances from the cast. Temuera Morrison is all size and brutish strength; in his flashes of anger and violence he is terrifying, but he is also very good at deceiving us with that laid-back, New Zealander smile, and a voice which shows us glimpses of his love for song and family. Even near the end as he collapses under the weight of everything thrown at him, his innate masculinity is still trying to rear its head, still trying to drown his sorrows and pretend that nothing is wrong. Do his final words betray a fear and awareness of the wrongs he has committed? Morrison makes this possible. Owen excels in both the subtle and the overt; the blood-curdling scream as she discovers her daughter's body hanging from a tree, and in the silent, trembling fury as she fiercely attempts to "hold her tongue" in front of her husband. And what about Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, who treads almost silently as the beaten-down Grace, who whimpers like a helpless, abused dog as she is raped, and later shivers in the bathtub as she tries to erase physical traces of the violation but cannot scrub it from her mind. In the end there is only a little solace that she found relief from the pain, and a bittersweet feeling that it has resulted in the rest of the family finally moving away from it all.

In urban Auckland, New Zealand, the Heke family is struggling. Jake is unemployed and a violent drunk. He's often drinking with his gang of friends. Beth is a mother with problems of her own. The biggest is that Jake beats on her sometimes. The oldest son Nig joins a Māori gang. The second son Boogie is taken from the family and finds a mentor in foster care under Mr. Bennett. Grace is the sensitive 13 year old daughter who has a homeless friend Toot. The family dysfunctions culminates with Grace's rape by one of Jake's drinking buddies.In more careless hands, this could be a simple Lifetime movie. The violent drunk dad story is not that compelling. This movie shows the mother Beth as more than a victim. It also shows that they truly love each other. The performances are amazing. Jake isn't an one-note character. By tying this to the community's culture, this movie has a sense of power beyond the family.

I saw this film when i was about 14 it was on t.v. And i was blown away it was amazing. It is in my top 10 of all time without a doubt. From beginning to end it is so powerful its unreal. the whole cast were fantastic. Temuera Morrison was just awesome he had to change his personality from scene to scene and the violence he had to portray through out just amazing. The stuff that is in this film must have been hard on all of them it was so gritty and dark and disturbing in a lot of ways but the whole storyline required it for the film to work and it did. the violence in the film so good looked so real rena owen also a great performance for what she had to deal with throughout.The emotional drain on the actors/actress's must have been hard more so in the death scene and the scene where rena finds out why grace killed herself is just so strong and powerful. I have watched this film a lot and i will never get bored of it and its still as strong as the 1st time i watched it. If you haven't seen this before WATCH IT.