Amidst the mean streets of Auckland, Beth Heke (Rena Owen) lives with her husband Jake (Temuera Morrison) and their children in a tenement house for native Maori. Jake’s battle with alcoholism frequently results in terrifyingly violent outbursts, but Beth’s unwavering devotion prevents her from seeing how much his rage is destroying their family – until it’s almost too late.

Winner of nine New Zealand Film Awards, this groundbreaking adaptation of Alan Duff’s hard-hitting novel is “powerful and chilling, and directed by Lee Tamahori with such narrative momentum that we are swept along in the enveloping tragedy of the family's life” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).

“A relentless sledgehammer of a film… undeniably powerful.” –Los Angeles Times

DIRECTED BY LEE TAMAHORI
NEW ZEALAND | 1994 | ENGLISH & MAORI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES