Mahana aka: The Patriarch - 2016
DVD UPC/EAN #9321337168333(AU/NZ); 4009750248362(DE)
Principal Cast: Temuera Morrison, Akuhata (Augs) Keefe, Nancy Brunning, Jim Moriarty, Regan Taylor, Maria Walker, Sienna MacKinlay, Te Kohe Tuhaka.
Crew: Screenplay: John Collee from the Witi Ihimaera novel, 'Bulibasha: King of the Gypsies'; Director of Photography: Ginny Loane; Editor: Michael Horton, Jonathan Woodford-Robinson; Production Designer: Mark Robins; Costume Designer: Liz McGregor; Makeup Designer: Susan Glass; Composers: Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper, Tama Waipara; Producers: Robin Scholes, Janine Dickins; Director: Lee Tamahori.
It is the 1960's on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. Two Maori sheep-shearing families - the Mahanas and the Poatas - are sworn enemies and commercial rivals. 14 year-old Simeon Mahana, the youngest son, seeks allies against his traditionalist grandfather, Tamihana. As Simeon unravels the truth behind the longstanding family vendetta, he risks not just his own future prospects, but the cohesion of the entire tight-knit society. High production values with an excellent score, photography and acting. Although the DVD has an English subtitle option, it does not when Maori is spoken and Maori is spoken a good deal. Of course, this means that those of us who are not proficient in Maori miss some of the nuances. I should add that there are Maori subtitles, when Maori is spoken. That negative aside, I definitely recommend this view into rural Maori family life of the '60s.
Censor Rating: M - Review Rating: B+
Official MP4 Trailer
