River Queen (2005)

River Queen (2005). 1h 54m | K-15

“Boy did I enjoy River Queen. The scenery was stunning, the acting superb, the story brilliant, and the music was a hauntingly beautiful match to an incredible film. I always thought it would be great if a film was set during the Maori wars that was similar to Michael Mannu0026#39;s u0026quot;The Last of the Mohicansu0026quot;. Well this it, with shades of Joffeu0026#39;s u0026quot;The Missionu0026quot; to boot.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRiver Queen grabs you and draws you into a world that you only learned about in history books. It does not take sides but portrays the beautiful and the ugly in both sides to the conflict. The chemistry between the main actors is powerful and moving and keeps the people of the story to the fore, stopping them from being engulfed by the powerful images of the war.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI always thought it would take our own Peter Jackson (should be Sir Peter) to make a film of this quality in New Zealand and about New Zealand. But I take my hat off to Vincent Ward. River Queen demonstrates that there is an amazing depth of movie making talent in this small country that time and again punches way above itu0026#39;s weight.”