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The Island (1965)
Character: Dan
This early children's TV classic is a Kiwi take on a genre staple: the summer holiday adventure. Aucklanders Peter and Laura meet up with their Wellington friend Rangi and his older cousin Dan (Wi Kuki Kaa), and go on an expedition to Kapiti Island. The trio (minus Dan, who has a sprained ankle) go bush for some kids vs. wild action.They camp, fish, skylark around cliffs and caves, summit the island, and inevitably get lost, before - getting safely home. (NZ On Screen)
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Kingpin (1985)
Character: Mr Nathan
Willie, a likeable kid, forms a friendship with Rikki, a new arrival at the reform school. Willie discovers that Rikki is maybe tough enough to take on Karl, the kingpin. Although Rikki is strong, he does not like to fight, but tensions mount as Karl's bullying become more obnoxious. After being shown up by Willie, Karl loses his temper and gives Willie a thrashing. As a result, Willie joins with some other boys in an escape. They steal a car, get drunk, and have a serious accident. Meanwhile Rikki is in hospital, injured in a forestry "accident' engineered by Karl.
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Te Rua (1991)
Character: Rewi
A hundred years after the theft from New Zealand of three irreplaceable tribal carvings, two members of a Māori tribe decide it's time for ancient grievances to be put right. Variously praised as a major step forward in indigenous cinema, attacked for overambition, and little screened, Te Rua marked Barry Barclay’s impassioned follow-up to his acclaimed debut feature Ngāti.
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Turangawaewae (2002)
Character: Tiare
Actor Wi Kuki Kaa plays Tiare, a Vietnam War veteran who is dislocated by his experiences of war, and homelessness. He wanders the city streets, collecting ephemera in plastic bags. Nancy Brunning plays his daughter, who, with her own daughter, visits their reluctant koro to convince him to visit his ancestral home. The result is a moving story about a man jolted to find his turangawaewae, and the whanau that helps him get there. (NZ On Screen)
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Inn of the Damned (1975)
Character: N/A
A sheriff investigates why the guests at a local hostelry check in, but never check out.
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The Bounty (1984)
Character: King Tynah
An idyllic voyage to Tahiti in 1789 turns a crew aboard the H.M.S. Bounty against its captain when they find a tropical paradise.
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River Queen (2005)
Character: Old Rangi
In 1860s New Zealand, a young Irish woman desperately trying to find her son finds herself caught on both sides of the lines during the wars between Māori tribes and the British colonial army.
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Utu (1983)
Character: Wiremu
In New Zealand in the 1860s the native Māori people fought the British colonials to keep the land guaranteed to them by treaty. The warrior Te Wheke fights for the British until betrayal leads him to seek utu (revenge). The settler Williamson in turn seeks revenge after Te Wheke attacks his homestead. Meanwhile Wiremu, an officer for the British, seems to think that resistance is futile.
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Ngāti (1987)
Character: Iwi
Set in and around the fictional town of Kapua in 1948, Ngāti is the story of a Māori community. The film comprises three narrative threads: a boy, Ropata, is dying of leukaemia; the return of a young Australian doctor, Greg, and his discovery that he has Māori heritage; and the fight to keep the local freezing works open.
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The Diamond of Jeru (2001)
Character: Inghai
Based on Louis L'Amour novel, The Diamond of Jeru tells the story of an American scientist and his wife who hire an ex-pat war veteren to act as a guide on a journey up an unchartered Borneo river in search of diamonds.
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Thunderbox (1989)
Character: N/A
Expelled from school for repeating one of his father's very down-to-earth philosophies in an English lesson, Thunderbox Jnr finds himself in the workforce and getting into trouble with the law.
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