Sydney Film Festival Review - The Convert

“I have a young woman in my care, a young Māori woman...”

Stark, brutal and pensive, The Convert captures the cultural tensions of early colonial New Zealand and the conflicts present between the Māori tribes and the settlers, as brutal warfare and vengeance rage, and a message of mercy and peace aims to bring unity, with an emotional Guy Pearce and a powerful Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne against the harsh yet striking landscape of beautiful Aotearoa.

Discussion Points:

Whilst the introduction of organised religion during colonial occupation and settlement has caused its fair share of tragedy and grief around the world, in New Zealand, there are many Māori who see the introduction of Christianity and its concept of mercy and grace as being responsible for ending the cyclical nature of revenge killings and wars of vengeance between rival tribes. And in many cases, it was the Māori themselves who travelled village to village sharing the message of peace. But aboard the same boats that brought Bibles, they also brought bullets - and it was these muskets that almost threatened to remove the entire tribal population through in-fighting. NZ director Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors; Die Another Day) captures this brutal period of time by telling a historical fiction about two waring tribes, and the English lay minister, himself a former soldier, and the tensions and conflicts faced in this colonial frontier. Guy Pearce, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne and Jacqueline McKenzie absolutely drive the core of the film with deep felt tragedy, empathy, pain and hope. Each have losses that drive them towards seeking reconciliation over revenge in a powerful story about cross-cultural contextualisation, inculturation and respect. The title serves a double meaning as Munro comes to convert to local cultural traditions, whilst the tribe of Mananui comes to embrace the gospel of mercy and grace. With some brutal tribal warfare, and harsh frontier conditions, The Convert is stark and raw, but with a deeply emotional core.