The Convert

A very simple straight forward watch about the start of the invasion of west into new Zealand. I love watching Maori films , but unfortunately majority of them are terrible and unwatchable. Due to all new Zealand TV being pretty cheesy and terrible. When I was there , quality is like watching stuff from the 80's.... Anyway the film has fantastic locations and captures the maori's well . Brutal culture , very tough people. They were way more aggressive than native Indians in usa. Their general rule of thumb is they will cook you until your eyes pop out , then feast on you. This film kept me to the end and I enjoyed the acting and story. It reminded me of the last samurai with Tom cruises character, very similar to the main protagonist in this movie. It has hints of the old traditional movie ' The bounty ' as well. It's a little slow to begin with , but has some fun exciting scenes towards the end.

I found this movie to be surprisingly great. The cinematography is breath-taking. The acting is exquisite. The story was very slow in one respect but not detailed enough in others. The pace was a tad slow for me, but failed to delve into character detail and the individual stories on the other hand. I believe this could have been a respectable mini-series if, for instance, the details of the young English girl and the Maori man were expanded or the relationship of Monroe (Pearce) and the woman (McKenzie) he met on the island, was drawn out in more detail. Some scenes are not for the faint-of-heart but they are tastefully done. But again I feel the need to mention the visual aspect of these beautiful islands. And speaking of details, I have to ask - knowing that Mr. Pearce is not only a great actor - but a skilled artist as well, did he do the drawings that were in the sketch book he carried? Being no stranger to performing portrait art myself, the sketches were amazing. As far as the subject matter, I had no idea of the history of New Zealand or the tribal inhabitants so I feel I learned a lot from watching The Convert, even though I read that it may not be a historically accurate as it could be. Over all, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and already have viewed it twice to take everything in. I highly recommend it.

While this film tells of a seemingly unimportant bit of history from a global political perspective, it is infact a very interesting tale which is omitted from commonly known pop history.

The scenes are dramatic and don't pause, one picture almost seems better than the last. Every shot tells a story of culture and narrative, and every line of the script only adds more meaning to human nature.

In a lot of ways the seemingly small skirmish which is depicted in this film, can be far more dramatic than the large scale battles of the massive nation States who dominate the Globe. Each member of the warring tribes are not only friends but also lovers, family members and close nit family legacies.

As a history enthusiast, I also very much appreciated a more realistic portrayal of...history which is often, or almost always ignored by mega budget Hollywood fairy tales disguised as history. Yes there were some goofy flaws with weapons, but the flaws told a larger narrative and gave more color to viewers who might not be history buffs.

In the end this movie is at heart a play and not a documentary, but it's a story true to it's spirit.

Enjoy!

It's 1830 New Zealand. Guns have changed the local Maori culture and soon Christianity. Thomas Munro (Guy Pearce) is the newly arrived Reverand from England to preach over the tiny community of Epworth. On the way there, he encounters a tribal conflict and rescues Rangimai (Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne) from execution. She turns out to be the daughter of a rival clan leader. Charlotte (Jacqueline McKenzie) is an Epworth villager with connection to the Maori.

This is essentially the story of Dances with Wolves in another place with more religion. There is a lot to like. It also feels very familiar. It is nice to see this culture and this particular time/place being represented. It's not the most covered. This may not be the most inventive, but it's nice just to see it.

Guy Pearce plays Munro, a lay preacher tasked with looing after a new British settlement on the coast of 1830's New Zealand. The area is riven still with tribal wars and Munro becomes involved in these by accident, during other endeavours.

While this does not pretend to be an accurate retelling of events, it does portray very much the feelings of the time. Tribes who think revenge blood is the only redemption, explorers who think they have a right to other lands, a King who seeks to rule over lands he's never even seen, and the power of the passionate belief of a handful of people.

Munro, an ex soldier who has realised that war is not the route to peace, attempts to convince 2 warring tribes to find a more peaceful way. Of course, this ends in a brief war. However his influence appears to have lain on the victor as he seeks peace from now on with the vanquished.

There is of course a lot of sacrifice along the way of loved ones, some dirty dealing, some giving up of values and some compromise. But is that a fair price to pay for peace?

It's very, very well acted, and the story flows quickly yet in great detail. Guy Pearce is his usual excellent self and the story is inherently interesting and emotional. I liked it a lot so I gave it a solid 7.