ONCE WERE WARRIORS (1994). Few films have the courage to trace elements of violence when that violence occurs within a family or to take an uncompromising, unromantic position regarding race. Yet this film—based on a novel by Alan Duff—shows as well the strengths of Maori culture, in the diverse paths Maori have taken to rediscover and redefine that culture. At the same time, director Lee Tamahori does not turn away from exploring the dark side of Maori culture. No one viewing the film could hide from the obvious implication that the dark side, the world of excess alcohol and violence, exists within their culture—whether Maori or something else—unless they never read the newspaper, watched the news, or went out. Although the film sometimes opines that the violence is perpetrated by the husband, Jake, because of some kind of psychological addiction to being a wage slave, and the frustration that brings, it is less than clear about the dynamic of violence established by Jake and Beth.
Her attraction to him seems purely sexual, and she enjoys the sexuality that is part of his syndrome of violence. In this sense, the film holds a bigger mirror up to Western culture: it is not just the violence dynamic that occurs in some instances in Maori culture, but the violence that occurs in many cultures. Tamahori is brave enough to suggest possible paths to breaking the cycle of violence: paths comprising a return to some form of traditional culture and the respect that lay within that culture; gaining a respect and identity through suffering brutal initiation into the urban tribe, complete with the external badges of identity; or learning the internal strengths of the traditional culture and recovering identity and respect through that process.
O’SHEA, JOHN (1920–2001). John O’Shea rightfully holds the title of founder of the New Zealand film industry. He made the only three feature films between 1940 and 1970, and he would have liked to make more, as he deplored what he saw as the Americanization of the world (see PACIFIC FILMS). Like many contemporary filmmakers then and now—in Australia, for example—he saw films as essential elements of culture, a means of storytelling that molded and reinforced notions of identity. He there directed three feature films—the only feature films made in New Zealand between 1940 and 1970—Broken Barrier (1952), Runaway (1964), and Don’t Let It Get You (1966). After 1966, he moved from directing to producing. He was concerned about what he considered the unique feature of New Zealand, the European culture and consciousness juxtaposed with a Maori culture and consciousness. This grinding of cultures finds a means of articulation, if not a solution, in his films. For O’Shea, films were a means of shaping a cultural revolution and influencing opinion. His lobbying carried a significant weight in the decision of the government to establish the New Zealand Film Commission in 1978. Recognizing the value of film as an historical artifact—again partly through O’Shea’s lobbying—the government also established the New Zealand Film Archive to ensure that the cultural heritage of New Zealand was saved. He was a founding Board member in 1981 and remained until 1999. In 1990, O’Shea was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE)—an award given by the Queen of England in an antiquated system of recognition—for his services to film, and the Film Commission awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992. In 2001, his name was given to an annual film fellowship for young filmmakers.