Once Were Warriors

ONCE WERE WARRIORS is a powerful film that focuses on a New Zealand family descended from Maori tribesmen. For Jake (Temuera Morrison) and Beth Heke (Rena Owen), life in their suburban ghetto is going from bad to worse. Jake's just lost his job, their delinquent teenage son Boogie has to appear in court, and they can't make ends meet with five growing kids. Late that night, they host another one of Jake's raunchy drinking parties while the children lie awake in their bedroom. When their oldest son asks for money, which Beth discovers Jake has gambled away, it ignites a vicious argument that Jake solves by giving Beth one of his brutal beatings. The tide of violence continues to ebb and flow in the Heke household until a terrible tragedy makes them confront the dysfunctional state of their family.