Once were warriors

Once Were Warriors isn’t a fun movie by any stretch of the imagination. Violence and anger are at the core of this powerful film, which doesn’t shy away from showing the domestic abuse in all of its potent rage.
The story revolves around Beth and Jake Heke (Rena Owen and Temuera Morrison) who, to outsiders at least, have seem to have a wonderful life—five healthy kids and plenty of friends and laughter. But Jake is a very angry man and physically takes this negative energy out on his wife. In one very telling scene, Jake literally pummels and rapes his wife while his children huddle together upstairs, trying not to be heard.

Unlike many films that center around domestic abuse, the relationships work in Once Were Warriors because we get a chance to u...