Savage

"What this film is saying about the devastatingly repetitive nature of abuse is far from new, but how it’s said through authentic local history is. New Zealand’s notorious historical borstals inflicted damage on the nation that perhaps hasn’t been acknowledged as much as it should be. We’re still suffering from those wounds, with our gang culture the most obvious of them, and Savage forces the viewer to wallow in that. It’s a powerful debut feature from Sam Kelly and I eagerly look forward to whatever he does next."

"The triptych structure is a little fiddly, but Savage is never less than powerful."

"A moving character study with bruising moral weight."

"Considered storytelling amid the coshing. An auspicious debut from Sam Kelly."

"It is never less than heartfelt and engaging."

"A credibly hard-hitting if depressingly repetitive (fackin, fackin, fackin, fackin) milieu, with shades of Lee Tamahori's classic New Zealand drama Once Were Warriors."

"This is a brutal, confronting and, ultimately, very emotional watch."

"The details of gang life are fascinating. The casting is superb..."

"Thoughtful character drama more interested in exploring the longterm effects of childhood abuse than the broader activities or impact of our street gangs."

"Shifting back and forth among three watershed moments in the protagonist's life, Kelly draws an emotional roadmap detailing one man's life and how he got from A to B."

"There is a good deal of promise and ambition on display here, but Kelly never entirely pulls off what feels like his attempt at a Maori excursion into Scorsese territory."