In 1870s New Zealand, Te Wheke (Anzac Wallace), a Maori scout for the
colonial troops, finds his tribe massacred by the army he is working for.
Anguished and betrayed, he vows to exact retribution – Utu – on the
Pakeha.
With lavish technical enhancement and narrative streamlining, this
‘Redux’ version of the 1983 epic restores its rightful place in the canon
of great New Zealand films, one that is arguably our most culturally resonant
and significant. After the great success of GOODBYE PORK PIE, dir. Geoff Murphy
and his team got their fingernails dirty with this indigenous ‘Western’ that
addresses a turbulent period in our history – circa 1870 – where vast
casualties were suffered both by the native Maori and British colonialists
caught in the cycle of revenge, or ‘utu’. Convincingly mounted and well
sustained through a series of memorable set pieces, it pays off its ambitions
handsomely as both drama and spectacle. ~ NZIFF/NZonScreen.com
Cover artwork not final