A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
- Awards
- 22 wins & 7 nominations
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTemuera Morrison would get challenged to fight all the time by local thugs after seeing him play Jake Heke.
- GoofsWhen Beth is being beaten by Jake at the start of the film she is thrown into a mirror which shatters completely. Later when the children are cleaning up the mess the mirror is back on the wall with only a few cracks.
- Crazy creditsMost of the opening credits are either split in half, scattered in different areas of the screen, abnormally shaped or used in small white print. Some are even mixed.
- SoundtracksOnce Were Warriors (The Awakening)
Performed by Tama Renata
Featured review
NOT FAR FROM FACT.
As a Pacific Islander (Samoan), I could relate to the characters in this film, especially the father Jake The Muss. As a warrior people, Islander life is hard, and it comes with the damage that was introduced to our people from European intervention back when Island people first had contact with the expeditious Europeans.
The Pacific Island people of Maori, Tonga, Hawaii, Fiji, Tokelau, Easter Island, Tahiti, and Samoa to name a few, have all felt the results of European and American intervention. This film epitomizes the lifestyle of people who were once chiefs, warriors, and royalty, and the results of the alcohol and western ways that produced characters like Jake and many Islanders like him.
Our people were a race of proud warriors, and this film is powerful in it's depiction of a family torn apart due to the effect of substance abuse on the warrior and his family. It is sad, but I can relate because I was that way with my first wife. I drank, and confided in the comfort of my Samoan brothers placing them first before my family. I beat my wife constantly and with little or no provocation, and was able to hold a reputation as a gang elder and fighter within my hood in Los Angeles, CA. This ripped my family apart, as the Heke family in the story. The guilt of my past life appeared before me when I saw the film, and even now I cringe from the life I lead 12 years ago.
The depiction of Maori lifestyle is on point, as a large number of my people live in those conditions. Among Samoans, there are more of us on mainland USA than back home. Many Samoans (like the Maori's in the film)live in urban areas, infected with substance abuse, and gangs. Violence is an everyday thing, and the movie depicted all of these points. NOT FAR FROM FACT.
The Pacific Island people of Maori, Tonga, Hawaii, Fiji, Tokelau, Easter Island, Tahiti, and Samoa to name a few, have all felt the results of European and American intervention. This film epitomizes the lifestyle of people who were once chiefs, warriors, and royalty, and the results of the alcohol and western ways that produced characters like Jake and many Islanders like him.
Our people were a race of proud warriors, and this film is powerful in it's depiction of a family torn apart due to the effect of substance abuse on the warrior and his family. It is sad, but I can relate because I was that way with my first wife. I drank, and confided in the comfort of my Samoan brothers placing them first before my family. I beat my wife constantly and with little or no provocation, and was able to hold a reputation as a gang elder and fighter within my hood in Los Angeles, CA. This ripped my family apart, as the Heke family in the story. The guilt of my past life appeared before me when I saw the film, and even now I cringe from the life I lead 12 years ago.
The depiction of Maori lifestyle is on point, as a large number of my people live in those conditions. Among Samoans, there are more of us on mainland USA than back home. Many Samoans (like the Maori's in the film)live in urban areas, infected with substance abuse, and gangs. Violence is an everyday thing, and the movie depicted all of these points. NOT FAR FROM FACT.
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- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Колись були воїнами
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,608,570
- Gross worldwide
- $1,608,610
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