Once Were Warriors

Once Were Warriors (1994) — watch online on iFILM: New Zealand drama directed by Lee Tamahori, starring Rena Owen and Temuera Morrison. The Heke family live in a rough Auckland housing estate, cut off from Maori land and tradition by two decades of city poverty.

Beth holds the household together. Her husband Jake is charming, physically enormous, and unpredictable — a man who can command a room and then put his fist through a wall. The children find their own ways to cope. The eldest gravitates toward gang life. The youngest absorb what they see at home. Adapted from Alan Duff's novel, the film pulls no punches and offers no easy consolations.

Released in 1994, it became the defining New Zealand film of its era, winning local awards and traveling widely on the international festival circuit. Stream Once Were Warriors (1994) online on iFILM.