70
Domestic violence has never been more savagely portrayed on screen.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
88
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Once Were Warriors works, to some degree, on three levels: the visceral, the emotional, and the intellectual, and it is the amalgamation of these that makes this a memorable film.
88
New York Daily News by Jami Bernard
Once Were Warriors has more to say than the traditional TV-movie about spousal abuse. But some viewers will have to pay a price: This is a movie that requires strength and fortitude to sit through.
70
The New York Times by Janet Maslin
A brutally effective family drama. Rough around the edges and crudely obvious at times, it still presents a raw, disturbing story of domestic strife.
80
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
At once upsetting and highly involving, it packs an undeniable punch.
75
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
You may not want to accept what you see here; you may be unable to accept it. But it's doubtful you'll leave this film unmoved.
83
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
You can feel director Lee Tamahori doing his best to get a rise out of you. Yet his work has fire and substance, too.
75
Washington Post by Rita Kempley
An uncompromising, emotionally draining drama that presents the urbanization of New Zealand's Maori as a cultural disaster, one that is mirrored in the shards of a shattering marriage. This explosive first film by director Lee Tamahori focuses on the transformation of a battered wife, but its story is fueled by the machismo of the disenfranchised Maori male.
88
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The director's key achievement is creating a convincing sense of daily life in the household and neighborhood. This is not a narrow drama that focuses on a few themes; it paints a whole style of life, the good times with the bad.
75
Baltimore Sun by Stephen Hunter
It's a fine, fierce and nearly unforgettable movie.