Video Find of the Day
UTU (1983) is one of my top five favorite movies of all time. It got very little attention in the US when it was released here. It has generally been treated as either an art film or as an adventure film. It's neither. It's drama, about a clash of cultures and revenge ("utu" is often translated as revenge.) In the first scene of the first video below, TeWheke is a Maori fighting on the side of colonialists near the end of the Maori Wars in New Zealand, when his own village is destroyed by his unit. The movie follows his subsequent revenge. The second scene of the clip shows the opening of TeWheke's personal war.
Utu-TeWheke
UTU is unique among movies that represent a clash of cultures, in that it doesn't try to get the viewer involved by offering a hero he can identify with. There's no Kevin Kostner character in this movie.
Loving Polynesian chant, this next scene is naturally my favorite. In it, we see a unit of Maori soldiers fighting on the colonial side. They are in the hills on the trail of TeWheke and his warriors. They stop for a little uplifting mutual cheer.
Utu - Haka
About Me
- Dr. Wes Browning
- I have a doctorate in Mathematics from Cornell. I am amused by this. My parents tried to kill me on my 1st birthday. Though I now can't speak it much, and though my parents never could, my first language was Hawaiian, not English. I partially credit an I'iwi for my survival. Hear one on the audio clip at my complete profile. I've been homeless a number of times, for a total of about 4 years. For some of that time I supported myself with the sale of paintings. One of my paintings was chosen for the cover of the premier issue of Real Change, see the links below. Since that first issue in 1994 I have become part of its volunteer editorial committee. I write a regular humor column for the paper, currently titled Adventures in Irony. I serve on the Real Change Board of Directors. I feed the Real Change cat Sid Vicious. Anitra Freeman and I are an item.
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