Movies Of My Life # 32: Once Were Warriors
An occasional series here at Off The Tracks celebrating the movies that I love and have thought about most often throughout my life.
I always thought, in this case, the movie was more powerful than the book. And it’s almost always the reverse. We watch the film after, for a gentle boast. So we can say that we had read the book…”and it’s better”. Sometimes we get them in the wrong order, the movie good enough to make us want to read the book — and maybe, then, we might find the book would only have been better if we’d actually read it first. But Once Were Warriors is, to me, the key example of the film being a better realisation of the themes than the book. I mean, sure, it’s chicken/egg and moot stuff: The film only exists because of the book. So there is that caveat. But I believe this movie realises the story in a better, more fluid way.
Alan Duff’s source material was raw — and that is part of what made it, um, shine. But really, his gift was timing. His book came out at the right time. The film took that book not only to the non-readers and/or non-believers in the country, but took it worldwide. Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures and this movie had a lot to do with showcasing our skills on the world stage, and shining a light on our country.
It’s worrying to view Once Were Warriors again — now 30 years on — as I did recently. And to ponder how much has changed, or hasn’t. But it’s also powerful to watch it as a piece of filmmaking. It says what it says, it makes no excuses, or apologies. It dumps us straight into the world without explanation and does not allow us out. We are there for the duration. And its 100 minutes absolutely hurtles by. We are pulled along by destructive and despicable characters (Jake, Uncle Bully) and we seek temporary solace in the undesirable worlds of the kinder, gentler characters (Gracie, Toot). And we are there squarely for the journey of Beth. Has there been a more brutal depiction of stoicism, and the battle to stand upright, standing proud first before being able to finally walk away?
Warriors packs in perfect, profound performances by its leads and supporting cast. It, um, hits so hard.
When I first saw the film — when it was released in cinemas back in 1994 — I was still at high school. I drove in to see it one day by myself. I think it was the first movie I went to alone. (One of life’s great privileges and pleasures is to head off to a movie on your own — no phone, no distractions, no company, just the movie and you). On that day, I was feeling bummed out, I can’t even remember exactly why now, but it was a bad day for me. And I went and saw Once Were Warriors, and I don’t at all want to say that it cheered me up. The film had an instant and profound effect. But it did create a perspective: I’m lucky. I’m okay. I’m going to be fine. My troubles vanished, instantly. And from there — from that day, that screening, I have sought out films that show trauma and difficulty (Nil By Mouth, Hounds of Love) as a means of reminding myself that my life is, as Randy Newman would say, Good!
Once Were Warriors is of course more than the reminder that I’m one of the lucky, privileged ones. It always was. That first screening knocked me down. And I watched it again, months later, as part of a crowd. And yes, we chanted “jokes” about cooking eggs and give your Uncle Bully a kiss (memes before there were memes) because we were first year students and this was the parlance of the day. But it still hit hard. It still got right in there. It knocked us all out. That was our way of coping…by making the jokes. By celebrating our country’s language and by wrestling with how confronting the film was by finding a dark humour within it.
But it also gave pause for thought.
Away from the easy laughs (or uneasy laughs) of being part of a crowd, the film gnawed at me. And I watched it again — alone. Then, most recently, I watched it for the first time in a quarter century. It’s 30 years old this year. And to watch it now was to watch it for the first time as a parent. As a homeowner. As a person with steady employment and income. So many extra privileges from when I had first watched it and read the book, and rewatched it a couple of times.
The film’s themes are still relevant, still powerful, so much of it is still served raw. And it hurts to watch it. As it should. It’s a masterpiece. And the ultimately cruelty there is of course it would be better if it didn’t have to be made.
