L'âme des guerriers 2 - les âmes brisées

I agree about the comments made that this movie was a major disappointment - but perhaps only cause its the sequel to Once were warriors. OWW conveyed real heart felt emotion with many excellent scenes, this broken hearted sequel on the other hand went in a completely different direction - more to the style of a typical mediocer action flick. No where near as good as the first but not a bad movie on its own.

PLOT IRREGULARITIES: Others have commented on this and its true - Sonny is no where in OWW, which on its own can be over looked. BUT in OWW there's a scene where Beth is talking about how Jake was "bosting about his baby boy" (refering to Nig) as if Nig was there first born child - but then all of a sudden Sonny appears on the scene. Sounds very much like a case of inventing characters just to make the sequel a bit interesting. Whether they achieved that or not is debatable.

I was impressed when I first saw this film. Once Were Warriors gave us here in Aotearoa (New Zealand) a new perspective into some of our peoples lifestyles. However it was a bitter pill, the violence overwhelming at times.

In this the second film, the main character Jake 'the muscles' Heke confronts his own demons and fights to reclaim his whanau (family). This film was a welcome addition for me, while it tied up all the lose ends a little too tidily I was grateful to see Jake's transition.

This contained very little of the originals dynamic appeal and will certainly not hold the appeal of the first to the people who actually enjoyed the violence in Once Were Warriors. For those of us who cared about the characters and hoped for their salvation this film is a must see.

I remember seeing this film when it aired on TV in New Zealand. I was staying in a backpackers lodge and to my horror Jake the Muss drove his car down my street! I had to pinch myself, before I realised that I was in fact staying in one of the locations used in the film. For a moment I thought it was a security camera I was viewing outside! From what I remember the film doesn't carry the impact of Once Were Warriors, which people still mention here in London when I tell them I'm from New Zealand. None of them however have even heard of this sequel, which I think says it all. It wasn't a bad film, but definitely requires seeing the original for it to have any meaning.

(Some people have been confused by the film's title. It is in fact a lyric from a song which was very popular in New Zealand when I was a kid in the 80's. As the film picks up from the characters shattered lives in the first feature, it is quite appropriate. So just what become of the broken hearted? Watch the film and find out).

...That Ape is Dooley from the first film? And one of his gang members in the fight scene at the end of the movie is the guy that Jake decked in the bar for putting on the juke box from the first movie?! Surprised nobody has picked up on this!

The movie is great, not so much the harrowing insight into domestic abuse and child neglect, alcoholism and its results. More a tale of redemption, sorrow and revenge. I'd recommend everybody who liked Once Were Warriors see this, as it's a very fitting follow up.

Jake the Muss brings the goodness again, a few exciting fight scenes, a bit of domestic abuse and a whole bucket load of redemption and realisation at the hands of some unlikely people who help him see the errors of his ways.

7 out of 10.

It's impossible to consider What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted? without remembering, its predecessor Once Were Warriors.

I remember two separate women weeping, slumped in their cinema seats for minutes, after the conclusion of the harrowing Once Were Warriors; a movie that depicted the terror of domestic violence.

I remember some Maori friends telling me that on the contrary, they laughed during Warriors because the film was so much like home in New Zealand. That's a sobering revelation. I suppose that laughter can sometimes be a healing force.

Recently the writer of both of these films, Alan Duff, explained on ABC radio that he wasn't a pariah with the Maori community in New Zealand as had been claimed by some in the media. He explained that anyway if there had been Maoris after him, he'd "be dead meat by now." A statement that perhaps accentuates the veracity of the source material.

Once Were Warriors was literally a stunning film and was centered about Beth, Jake's wife (Rena Owen) as she tries to deal with her violent husband. What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted? moves a few years on.

Beth has left Jake and one of their sons Nig has become a member of an Auckland gang. He dies in a fight and his brother Sonny (Clint Ereura) teams up with Nig's former girlfriend Tania (Nancy Brunning) to get revenge.

Jake meanwhile is tying to come to terms with his violence. He's lost his daughter and one of his sons and has become estranged from his wife and remaining son. Something seems to be wrong but Jake has trouble controlling his temper.

Temuera Morrison was awesome as Jake in Warriors and again he's fascinating in What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?.

However What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted? isn't in the same class as Warriors. It's much better than the average gang, action movie but has far too much shallowness, too many stolid, severe looks, and far too little real involvement with the characters to rate in the same class as the first in the series.

There are some high (low) points in What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted? though. Jake breaks loose at one stage in his girlfriend's house. It's a portrayal of senseless, out of control, drunken violence that is memorable and unfortunately common in real life.

And then there's Tania when she begins singing in a record store; a scene that somehow moves beyond the ridiculous firmly into the charming. And Jake whacking those bikies heads in with spanners is pretty strong.

Temuera Morrison does hurtle us strongly into Jake's world. I hope there haven't been too many Jakes in your neighborhood.