The Convert

The Convert (2023), based on a story by New Zealand writer Hamish Clayton, is a film that's been a long time coming. Directed by Lee Tamahori, a seasoned veteran of both drama and action genres, it's a film that's been quietly simmering on the back burner since its sales rights were acquired at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

I'd done some reading about it a couple of years ago, and it seems the film spent those two years languishing in some production company drawer. The reason, I suspect, is the current state of movie-going audiences. Let's face it, most people (with a few exceptions) aren't flocking to theaters for two-hour (or longer) historical dramas. The box office numbers back this up. And I guess the production company didn't want to relegate this film to a straight-to-streaming/home video release either. They have a point.

Guy Pearce, one of the most talented actors working today, but one who's been plagued by a less-than-stellar career trajectory, takes the lead role. And boy, does he deliver. He's absolutely mesmerizing, bringing a Shakespearean intensity to every scene as if he were performing on the National Theatre stage. It's clear he's deeply invested in the story, perhaps due to its historical relevance to his own background.

Gin Loane, whose work I haven't seen before, delivers stunning cinematography that captures the rugged beauty of the New Zealand landscape. Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne gives it her all, and it wouldn't surprise me if she snags an award for her performance in this film. (I haven't checked, but it wouldn't be undeserved.)

The Convert is a film that deserves recognition for its acting, well-choreographed fight scenes, seamless integration of the Maori language, and authentic portrayal of 1830s New Zealand society. It's a film that transports you to another time and place, immersing you in a world of conflict, faith, and redemption.

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.

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.

Greetings again from the darkness. Ten years ago, no one would have thought twice about a preacher traveling to a remote island with the given mission of converting souls - both indigenous and British - to Christianity. But much has changed in those 10 years, and writer-director Lee Tamahori (hit and miss with NEXT, 2007; DIE ANOTHER DAY, 2002; ALONG CAME A SPIDER, 2001; THE EDGE, 1997) and co-writers Michael Bennett and Shane Danielson take head-on on the "white savior" backlash that's surely coming their way (not from me).

It's 1830 and Thomas Munro (Guy Pearce) is catching a ride across the rough waves of the Tasman Sea. His beautiful white steed doesn't much care for the boat's ups and downs, and both man and beast are happy to go for a run on the sandy shore once they reach their destination. And that's pretty much the end of the good times. Munro has been hired by the colonists to be their preacher and bring Christianity to the locals ... tribes of Maori. Munro stumbles into the brutal inter-tribe battles and he quickly negotiates to save the life of Rangimai (a stunning Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne), the daughter of the other tribe's chief.

Early on, we also learn that Munro is no ordinary preacher. He has a past that haunts him - and skills that come in handy in this new environment. Mostly though, he does a great deal of talking - regularly negotiating one thing or another with one side or another. His sketch book offers proof that he's a good man with good intentions, and one who seeks the good in others. What he also learns is that muskets are often more powerful than Christian words.

Munro's mission is aided by Charlotte (a terrific Jacqueline McKenzie) who acts as a translator, while carrying her own personal history of tragedy. Racism is of course on full display, despite Munro's efforts to negotiate peace between the tribes and the always-hovering British colonists. Throughout the film, there are some sloppily staged fight scenes, yet the cinematography from Gin Loane is exceptional. We do get the crescendo of a final showdown, as well as a somewhat surprising ending on display in a "Four years later" epilogue. Director Tamahori hits us very early with a smaller bird being attacked midair by a larger bird, with the survival of the fittest on display - whether here in New Zealand, or most any other place throughout history.

Opening July 12, 2024.

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.