The Pariarch (Mahana), directed by Lee Tamahori, is a great story about family tensions, the conflict between an aging patriarch who has up until the movie opens ruled his family with love but what you could call extreme firmness (or an iron fist), and the young upstart, one of his grandsons.
You might think that a story about Maoris is so far removed from what "everyone else" experiences, or a story about a strict and authoritarian family patriarch is so far removed from "modern life" as to have no appeal and no relevance to the present. Watching this film, I would respectfully disagree and think if you go to see it, you will as well.
The movie opens with a chase between two rival branches of a family as they rush to be the first ones to arrive at the funeral of a deceased elder. It is gripping. The lead car of each side of the clan tries to shove the other off the road, a narrow road with an even narrower bridge up ahead.
I won't tell you any more except that the entire movie was tight, full of suspense, and moving. There were two places in which it let down a little - I "knew" that "he'd" fall off of that roof, and it was unclear to me at the end exactly how the love story between the grandmother and her former finacé would end - but not only did I really like this movie, I think it successfully shows that human emotions, no matter what the social circumstances, if profoundly felt can translate easily to all of us.
The director, Lee Tamahori, part Maori himself, is a New Zealand filmmaker who, among other things, has a James Bond movie to his credit. He certainly knows how to handle plot and actors! (Since there are six people listed as stars, I won't include their names here.)
And no more movie reviews for a while. I need to see more movies first!
No comments:
Post a Comment