By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Toa Fraser
Country: new_zealand, united_kingdom
Year: 2015
Running time: 107
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3399916/combined
Kyle says: “THE DEAD LANDS is a tale of an ancient Maori tribe which is virtually wiped out by a band of treacherous, lying, spiritually desolate villains who are pursued by the dead chief’s handsome teenage son seeking revenge. Hongi (James Rolleston) is smart and brave enough to seek assistance from The Warrior (Lawrence Makoare) of the Dead Lands, who will decide to either help or eat him. But Wirepa (Te Kohe Tuhaka) and his band of godless cutthroats arrogantly wander through the Dead Lands, even though they have been warned it will mean death.
“By half an hour into the running time, you know which way the mythology is heading, as does anyone who has seen STAR WARS or its legions of forebears. But since Maori revenge sagas do not exactly grow on trees, you may want to stick around to see who gets killed and chopped first. The wait is not long: In a surprisingly humorous scene, Hongi bemoans his failure as a warrior and his shame as a son, while The Warrior hacks apart a recent victim and waxes Shakespearean: ‘Noble? That is what old men teach boys so they will rush into death for their tribes. But death is not noble. Nor is life. If you ask me, the gods have made this life to take pleasure in our suffering’.
“Subsequently The Warrior instructs Hongi to eschew graceful martial arts moves and instead anger his opponent: ‘Make a joke about their mother. That usually works for me’. There is much humor in these grunting, snarling, shrieking, tongue-waggling, and eye-blazing warriors during battle scenes. It should not detract from potential interest to note that dark-eyed dark-skinned actors James Rolleston in the role of Hongi and Te Kohe Tuhaka as Wirepa are both spectacularly handsome and well built, the former sensitive and boyish, the latter a sneering stud. True to training, in his first battle encounter, Hongi infuriates the enemy by sneering: ‘Your mother mates with dogs!’
“As one might expect, the story forks off into Hongi’s discovery that killing makes him a man, although he is miserable about that, as he nurses The Warrior back to health and into the improbable realization that he has a soul, although he is tortured about that. Then the film veers off into “Where Did That Come From?” — as The Warrior becomes an impromptu avatar of Caliban from THE TEMPEST, complete with self-hatred and vengeful speechifying. The climactic battle includes a surprise outcome, although it is not the triumph of patriarchal values, as we learn astonishingly that life is about fathers and sons. There is an appropriate credit for Maori Martial Arts specialist. Cinematography by Leon Narbey is so dazzling it almost makes you forget THE DEAD LANDS is not nearly as good as it could have been. 3 cats
“Wednesday, September 9, 2015, on Netflix, New York.”