A Maori Saga · 2016 film · Trailer · Review

Plot and background

The “Patriarch” conspiracy

New Zealand in the 1960s: On the other side of the world, sheep farming has always been a widespread tradition. On the east coast, the Mahanas and Poata families live in rural areas and identify the most demanding venues in the annual sheep shearing competition. With ambition and hatred towards each other, one's clan is praised in the highest notes and the feud is passed on to the next generation. Driven by pride and anger, the head of the Mahanas (Temuera Morrison) demands everything from his family in order to ensure the family's prestige. But his grandson Simon (Akuhata Keefe) soon finds himself caught between the two fronts of the old feud. When he falls in love with a girl from the Buata clan, a scandal occurs with his grandfather. Simeon soon discovers that the feud between the two clans is bigger than just the best way to shear a sheep.

Basic information about “The Patriarch”

After touring Hollywood with films like “Next” or “James Bond 007 – Die Another Day”, New Zealand director Lee Tamahori returns to his homeland. Based on the novel by Witi Ihimaera (“Whale Rider”), a New Zealand family drama in which the country's secret animals – sheep – are not only at the forefront. Lead actor and Mahanas patriarch Temuera Morrison worked with Tamahori in 1994 in the Maori drama “Once Were Warriors,” which helped them make the leap to Hollywood. Morrison has since appeared in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” and “Green Lantern.” The second lead actor, Akuhata Keefe, makes his debut with this film. The film celebrated its world premiere at the 2016 Berlinale and was met with mixed reviews there.