Broken English

Was drawn to this on IMDB by seeing an actor who I thought was 'Ivan' so i looked up the movie. I recall this was hauntingly beautiful, yet quite tense and violent. rmalcus-1 yes! There is a soundtrack and I used to have it. I don't know where it is now. There was one track in particular I played over and over. Loved all the music too.

The plot of "Broken English" is easy to summarize:

Boy and girl meet. Boy and girl like each other. Girl's father is violent and jealous. Father hates boy. Boy must subdue father. Boy fights father and wins. (Unfortunately, boy accidently runs over father's vicious but hapless dog in the process.) Boy and girl live happily ever after.

The video jacket says "Broken English" was made by the producers of "Once Were Warriors." Many of the two movies' elements are similar (notably the primitive father in each), though this one has only about one-fifth the quantity of stomach-churning violence of the greatly overrated "Once Were Warriors." But in both movies, the father exhibits much violently stupid behavior, and midway through this one I wondered, "Why don't the police just lock the guy up?" I gave "Broken English" a rating of six.

I found 'Broken English' one night at the video store when I was bored and couldn't find anything else to rent. I read the caption and that was enough to perk up interest. I have to say I thought the movie was pretty cool, although I agree that there are major gaps in what makes people like Ivan and his son Darko tick. The racism of Ivan, of course, is just ridiculous. Not that they used it in the film, but that he should have the gall to treat the Maori culture so shabbily (what is that black child doing in the family if he doesn't like black people??). After all, his family came to NZ fleeing war, not the other way around. The Maori were happily (hopefully so)going about their business long before the Croats showed up (probably the same could be said for the English, the Scots, the Irish and all the other Euro-peans arriving on boats to lord and rule for all these years). At least the film gives people, particularly American audiences, a glimpse into a little known culture like New Zealand (kiwi fruit and Russell Crowe, that's about it--and he gets tagged as Aussie most of the time). A shame is that Marton Csokas only gets to give himself to us as a straight-up meat head (a very good portrayal, but a meat head nonetheless) because he's a talented fellow. Ah, well, such is life.

Tee

It looks as if I am among the few who found the directing and production to be flawless. Janet McIver was also the production manager of Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors. Broken English is a delicate movie where the father tries to balance self-control and the love for his family. It is a harsh look at bigotry, and the ramifications of such behavior. Unlike Once Were Warriors, Broken English scores with great acting and has a much better script. True to life, the movie doesn't offer simple answers for the problems the cast deal with. If you're a fan of viewing different cultures, you will most likely enjoy this movie. I enjoyed this movie much more than the other two listed above.

"Broken English" is about a Croatian woman who lives with her old world parents in New Zealand and falls in love with a Maori man which, of course, causes problems while she acts as though she had no clue that would happen. Duh. Though it manages a modicum of entertainment, this film seems to know where it wants to go but has to pound square characters through round holes to make the plot work. In the process there are too many tongue clucking moments where the film's credibility is breached such as when a modern Maori man fights and chants like an ancient Maori warrior or a woman swims with dolphins which, as we learn, they only do with pregnant women...yeah, right. The characters in "Broken English" are in serious need of some conflict resolution...something which no one seeks as it would destroy the contrived drama. "Once Were Warriors" this film is not. However, it is an okay watch for those into Kiwi flicks with time on their hands. (C+)