The Convert

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.

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.

In 1830-based period-drama "The Convert" English lay-preacher Guy Pearce (strong as ever) is assigned to a remote New Zealand outpost where the Brit settlement (led by Mark Mitchinson) rents land from local Maori chief Antonio Te Maioha whose tribe is threatened by warlike rivals led by Lawrence Makoare. Aided by Scottish outcast Jacqueline McKenzie and Te Maioha's daughter Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Pearce attempts to break the savage cycle of violence... but can he? The screenplay from Michael Bennett, director Lee Tamahori & Shane Danielsen is interesting & engaging (if not outstanding for the genre). It's good, solid, worthy, & well-performed fare.

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.

While this film tells of a seemingly unimportant bit of history from a global political perspective, it is infact a very interesting tale which is omitted from commonly known pop history.

The scenes are dramatic and don't pause, one picture almost seems better than the last. Every shot tells a story of culture and narrative, and every line of the script only adds more meaning to human nature.

In a lot of ways the seemingly small skirmish which is depicted in this film, can be far more dramatic than the large scale battles of the massive nation States who dominate the Globe. Each member of the warring tribes are not only friends but also lovers, family members and close nit family legacies.

As a history enthusiast, I also very much appreciated a more realistic portrayal of...history which is often, or almost always ignored by mega budget Hollywood fairy tales disguised as history. Yes there were some goofy flaws with weapons, but the flaws told a larger narrative and gave more color to viewers who might not be history buffs.

In the end this movie is at heart a play and not a documentary, but it's a story true to it's spirit.

Enjoy!