Here’s an archive of capsule reviews on films previously available on Māori+.
The Last Wave
WATCH ON MĀORI+This certified 1977 Australian classic stars three-time Golden Globe winner Richard Chamberlain as a young Sydney-based lawyer who must defend a group of Indigenous men accused of killing another Indigenous man. The case sends him on a journey through Aboriginal history and his own nightmarish visions, with fellow screen legend David Gulpilil playing spiritual guide to the attorney.
Writing for The Guardian, Luke Buckmaster says the film “has an unsettling surreal energy that seems to exist entirely in that moment, where something as ordinary as the weather becomes an instrument of terror and suspense. The title isn’t a reference to a movement or an era; it is something far more literal. The manner with which water seeps into the film – from storms to dreams to a finale almost end-of-the-world in its scale – creates its key recurring motif.”
Quo Vadis, Aida?
WATCH ON MĀORI+Nominated for Best International Feature at the 2021 Academy Awards, this incredibly challenging and masterfully tuned siege film relays the true story of a United Nations translator’s mad rush during the Bosnian genocide to get her husband and sons to safety from the invading Serbian army. They are but a few of the hundreds of people holding up in a supposed safe zone, desperately waiting for the UN to make a move.
One of the rare titles to be certified fresh at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s an experience that simply cannot be forgotten. The filmmakers constantly flood the frame with people, an ever-present reminder of the weight of genocide pressing down on our central characters, while Jasna Đuričić matches that power with an incredibly composed performance that blends desperation with determination.
