Utu

There have been a couple of attempts in New Zealand cinema to address the corrosion of Maori culture, the most notable of which are Once Were Warriors and Whale Rider. The New Zealand film industry has only really stood on its two feet since the early 1980s, so the earliest parallel one can find to these films is Utu, a one-of-a-kind historical film based around the New Zealand Wars of the mid-19th century. Utu seeks to document the troubled attempts by Britain to colonise New Zealand and assimilate the Maori people, and simultaneously comes across as a fairly traditionalist adventure film. One reviewer on IMDB.com describes it as part western, part war film, part revenge movie and part black comedy... I think that's a pretty accurate summation.

'Utu' is a Maori concept that equates to a balancing of order through justice. A simplicifcation of this would be to call it justified revenge... the events in Utu are loosely based on Te Kooti's War, a conflict in colonial New Zealand where a Maori named Te Kooti led a prison revolt and then harried and attacked colonialist forces over the course of 4 years. In Utu, Te Wheke (Anzac Wallace) is a Maori tracker in the employ of the British army who turns against them after discovering the massacred remains of his village. From here he embarks on a mission of vengeance that broadens into a full scale war, though his endless thirst for revenge seems to drive him mad and kicks off further cycles of violence where other parties begin to seek their own utu against him.

I don't want to say that this is a complex film, because it isn't, but if you're completely unfamiliar with New Zealand history then you may have some trouble following it as certain things aren't always made clear. At the end of the day it's no different to certain historical assumptions that an American or British film may make in the expectation that their audience has enough background knowledge to understand certain things. One thing that may confuse international viewers is the use of the word 'Pakeha', which is a Maori word for non-Maori New Zealanders. There are a lot of different characters and factions in Utu, and the film offers a complete and balanced view of colonial New Zealand - featuring 'good' and 'bad' characters on both sides of the conflict (Te Wheke goes from being a folk hero to an absolute monster, whereas Scott [a Pakeha soldier] is portrayed as a conscientious man seeking a peacable solution).

Utu goes some way towards deconstructing the colonialism that first subjugated the Maori, showing the ways that religion is used as a controlling tool to bridge the gap between Maori and Pakeha culture, and the institutionalised rape and murder that was allowed under British rule. The character of Colonel Elliot (Tim Elliot) in particular is of interest, he's very much a symbol of the corrupt and evil nature of colonial authority. He acts with little regard for the Maori and towards the end of the film it's even implied that he's a pedophile (metaphors don't get much more blatant than that... a figure of authority misusing his power in the worst way possible). There are also several other scenes that feature corrupt British/Pakeha soldiers exploiting their fellow Pakeha and Maori alike. On the flipside, the Maori are also shown to reject British culture and the trappings of 'civilisation' that come with it, perhaps at its most obvious in the scenes where Te Wheke and his men destroy crockery and a piano in a farmer's house.

Despite the seriousness of these themes, Utu manages to be quite funny at times in a typically dark New Zealander manner. Whether it's the scene where Te Wheke sermonises his fellow Maori in a church whilst brandishing a vicar's disembodied head, or the rueful exclaimation of a disguised Maori warrior, "I've only been a Pakeha for one minute and I already hate you Maori!" The character of the farmer Williamson (Bruno Lawrence) also threatens to tip the film into exploitation territory, he's a forlorn and heartbroken man on a mission of revenge who gradually grows wilder and crazier as the film goes on, even eventually making his own four-barrelled shotgun (!)

The climax of the film; a full-scale assault that goes awry and leads to a showdown in the forest where all the principal characters discuss how best to distribute utu, manages to bring the film full circle to a purpose after a lot of freewheeling scenes of wanton violence and imperial injustice. If I had to categorise the film I'd say it was the New Zealand equivalent of a western (perhaps the only one), and certainly worth watching as an antipodean companion piece to films like Zulu or Broken Arrow.

HIGHLIGHT: One scene that sticks in my mind is a night sequence where sparks of shotguns can be seen in the darkness as Te Wheke's men advance across the moor to attack the Colonel's stronghold. It's one of those great iconic moments you sometimes find buried in obscure films.

DIRECTOR: Geoff Murphy
WRITER/SOURCE: Geoff Murphy and Keith Aberdeen, loosely based on real events in 1870s New Zealand.
KEY ACTORS: Anzac Wallace, Bruno Lawrence, Tim Elliott, Kelly Johnson, Wi Kuti Kaa,

RELATED:
- Reference is repeatedly made to Shakespeare's Macbeth.
- For an Australian perspective on indigenous anger check out The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.
- There's also some tonal similarity to the Australian western Mad Dog Morgan.
- Geoff Murphy's other two major New Zealand films are Goodbye Pork Pie and The Quiet Earth. All three also feature Bruno Lawrence.
- Other films that deal with colonialism and oppression include Zulu, Zulu Dawn, The Battle of Algiers, Quiemada! and Khartoum.
- For films that specifically deal with post-colonial Maori life and culture in New Zealand, see Once Were Warriors, The Piano, Whale Rider and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.