Cousins

Honestly the most beautiful film I've seen in years. At the end I'd say over a third of the cinema was crying. What a powerful story!

This was one of the most touching, and yet difficult to watch films I've seen in a long time. It makes me think long and hard about the pain, suffering, and tremendous damage my colonial ancestors caused to indigenous people all around the world.

This is a hard film to watch at times, but I felt in showing stories that happened and are still happening to Indigenous people and communities, it was to help deniers and minimizers to wake-up to the truth, and encourage those working for positive change and better intercultural respect and cooperation to continue despite the racism and sexism persisting in society due to historical amnesia, Eurocentric education, and apathy.

Apologies and acknowledgement of colonial and contemporary crimes against Indigenous people are not enough without honesty and true structural, educational and inter-community changes. For Indigenous peoples like the Maori, the effects of genocide and ethnocide that began in colonial times continues today. The effects are within both the individuals and their communities: trauma of all kinds, loss of identity, cultures, land, Self. Yet another horrible fact is the cycle of abuse and trauma against them exacerbated crimes within Indigenous communities, against each other, with children especially affected.

Mostly especially, from the past to present, the treatment of Indigenous girls and women was/is especially horrific, yet minimized and often silenced. This film both subtly and directly shows the psychological, spiritual and physical torment inflicted by peoples of European descent in their Eurocentric efforts to purify "Others", particularly through "Christianity", the beliefs and edicts of which were rewritten to serve the desires of European men to retain unchallenged power and invent supposed superiority. And remember, they first betrayed, tortured and killed their own non-Christian peers, particularly women, before invading and inflicting terror worldwide. It's all an ugly cycle that needs ending, so healing can begin for all.

There's something about New Zealand-made films that really resonate with me. Much like French movies they have something a little different about them that helps them stand out from other cinema features. I'm not sure if it's the quirky humour, the beautiful scenery, or just the wonderful ability to tell a good story, but films like Once Were Warriors, Black Sheep, Hunt for the Wilderpeople and now Cousins, show that New Zealand is definitely on the forefront of great, original movie making.

Based on the bestselling novel by Patricia Grace, Cousins tells the story of three girl cousins and the three very different paths their lives take. Makareta has been brought up in a well-off family and is being set up for an arranged marriage unbeknownst to her. Missy is the tomboy of the group and has to make tough decisions that are best for her and the family, while Mata has had the toughest upbringing. Being handed off to an orphanage by her father, she struggles to find her way in the world and is being brought up by an uncaring, unloving guardian who refuses to teach her the ways of the world. This abuse, of course, stunts Mata's growth as a person, and her being unable to function properly in society eventually leaves Mata out on the street and barely able to get by. But the bond of these three cousins is so strong that Makareta sets out to look for Mata while Missy protects the land on which they grew up. In a story filled with so much heartbreak, hardship and tears we're left to discover whether these cousins will ever be able to truly find one another again.

THE GOOD

Cousins is a film where everybody - from the actors to the directors to the composer to the cinematographer - were all on point. I'll have to admit that I was hooked when the music to the trailer for this film hit me and gave me shivers. It's a heartbreaking tale but one told with a gentleness and a very light touch of humour that you can't help but be drawn into this fascinating tale. Marta is the centrepiece of the film and her abusive upbringing is the catalyst that the story is based around. The main characters are each given three different timelines exploring their stories (child, teenager & adult) and although they're all exceptional in their roles, it's the three children who really stand out. Bringing a wide-eyed innocence to the film, it's amazing how natural they play off each other on camera. On the other hand, the adult actors bring a lot of heart to the script and leave you begging for a happy ending even though it seems near impossible.

THE BAD

The whole aspect of child custody and land rights is prominent in this film and I was left to wonder: A) if it was true and B) what was left to come for this family as the end credits rolled. Don't get me wrong it was a movie that was well told but it seemed that a lot of the big questions were left unanswered. It's by no means a film that needs a sequel but one in which doesn't give a lot of answers or resolution to some of the story threads.

THE UGLY

The plight of the Maori people seems eerily similar to those of the Indigenous people of Australia. Being treated differently because of the colour of their skin, being made to feel lesser, and being ostracised from the community as a whole seems a characteristic which unfortunately transcends borders all around the globe. Raw and real, it may be tough to watch at times but it's definitely worth seeing and hopefully learning from.

Cousins is by no means an uplifting story but has uplifting elements to it. A movie in which everyone, in front and behind the camera, seemed to be on the same page will teach you things about the Maori culture that you may have never known and is a film that puts family above all else. In this day and age that seems like a very important lesson to learn.

FOUR AND A HALF SILVER FERNS OUT OF FIVE.

Well I just had my heart gently pulled from my chest and handed to me wrapped in tissue. "Cousins" was as enchanting and heartbreaking as I could have hoped. So beautifully directed, intimately and cleverly told, weaving 3 narratives and 3 timelines and somehow never losing a thread. It will stay with me a long while. I loved it.