Mahana review

Mahana is in cinemas now
Mahana is in cinemas now

Jake the Muss has become arguably the most controversial and well-known character in New Zealand cinema.

Once Were Warriors helped put Kiwi cinema on the world map and launched the international careers of both its director Lee Tamahori and his muse Temuera Morrison.

Now Tamahori delivers Mahana, his first local feature in two decades, and once again, Morrison is his central character.

Mahana too is based on a book, this time from Whale Rider author Witi Ihimaera.  Bulibasha: King of the Gypsies does share some similar themes, but is a very different story.

Mahana is set on the East Coast of New Zealand in the 1960s, in a small bustling farming town.  There are two prominent Maori families who dominate the shearing community, and in the spirit of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, there is no love lost between the Mahanas and the Poatas – two household’s, both alike in dignity… from ancient grudge break to new mutiny. 

It is clear their rivalry runs deep, but there will be many sheep shorn and much wool, tears and blood on the shearing shed floor before the reason for that rivalry is revealed.

The patriarch of the Mahana family is Tamihana (Temuera Morrison) who rules his children and their children with an unforgiving iron fist. His loathing of Rupeni Poata has been passed down through the next generations and guarded with an unquestioning loyalty.

But his 14-year-old grandson Simeon thinks a little differently from the rest of his family, and it will be Simeon who asks the questions nobody else was courageous enough to ask.

Nancy Brunning delivers another understated and powerful big screen performance here as Ramona, Tamihana's wife and Mahana matriarch. Family is everything to her, but in a very different way from her husband.

She will be forced to take a side as their past catches up with them, and it's here the story takes a much darker turn.

Those familiar with the book will be prepared for where this film takes them, and there is a risk it may not sit well with those who are not. That worry is augmented during the final act, which plays out a little muddily and murkily, and left me feeling somewhat conflicted, and ultimately, a little underwhelmed.

The performances across the board from the more seasoned players are top notch, Morrison showing the hidden depths which always lurk there, offset perfectly by Brunning.

Newcomer Akuhata Keefe has moments of awkwardness, but that in fact served his teenage character rather well.

The film is wonderfully shot by Ginny Loane, immersing me entirely in the back blocks of our rich farming heritage and lending a very tangible and convincing authenticity to the story.

I love seeing our stories told on the big screen, and while Mahana didn't deliver nearly the same memorable experience of Tamahori's or Ihimaera's earlier triumphs, it was still well worthy of both the telling and the watch.

Three stars.

  Mahana:: Director: Lee Tamahori:: Starring: Temuera Morrison, Akuhata Keefe, Nancy Brunning, Jim Moriarty:: Rating: M - Sexual references & content that may disturb:: Running Time: 102 minutes:: Release Date: March 3, 2016

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