This Film Features One of the Darkest Characters in Motion Picture History!

Yes, another movie you have to search in order to find but this one is a gem.  "Once Were Warriors" is an award winning film in 1994 and is a timely classic.  It is a gritty in your face drama that will stay embedded in your brain for a very long time.  Not since Martin Scorsese Raging Bull do you feel a sense of intrusion when the drama and family violence occurs.

The film is set in the hard streets of Auckland (New Zealand) and explores the issues of alcoholism, domestic violence in a cruel and in your face way.  Jake Heke (Temuera Morrison) is a violent, tragic and at times a perverted man in the vein of Frank Booth (Blue Velvet).  In fact you can easy call the one of the top five creepiest, darkest characters in motion picture history. 

This is the top 5 most evil characters portrayed in film

1. Frank Booth played by Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet (1986)

      2. Tom Walsh played by Wings Hauser in 1982’s Vice Squad

      3. Leather face played by Gunnar Hansen in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

      4. Jake Heke played by Temuera Morrison in Once Were Warriors (1996)

      5. Patrick Batemen played by Christian Bale in American Psycho (2000)

What is your top 5 and why? 

Going back to Once Were Warriors, the film takes us to the depth of hell and digs us out with pride, value and the importance of family in a fascinating journey that transforms both protagonist and the audience.  As a screenwriter I have read many dark scripts that deal with drugs, gangs, domestic violence, molestation and end with death, destruction and darkness.  Who wants to pay to see “no hope?”  We read and witness “no hope” on the nightly news every night. 

Yes, life is not fair.  But for the most part, movies are fair because the bad guys get punished and the good guys get the girl.  Young filmmakers complain that movies are not “real” like life.  We go to movies to escape and when we see drama we would like an ending that does not lead us to jump off a bridge!!!

Once Were Warriors gives us that hope in a realistic and inspiring level.  That is what makes this movie a gem.  Upon lending this dvd to a social worker friend of mine, she now uses it in Domestic Violence circles as a form of therapy.  To see firsthand the charm and love the abuser has and how quickly the love turns into darkness.   The following scene shows the horror of violence and the innocent victims are always the children.

Yes, the scene is ugly, disturbing and evil.  Watching this scene made me sob because I grew up watching this at my home when my father was drinking.  To capture this raw scene with authenticity and horror are credited with both effective directing and acting.  I hope you search for the film because with its ugliness, the true beauty is in the resiliency of the head of the household, the mother and how she leads her family to safety and security.