the audience applauded

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Admirable film.

Wow. The cinematography in this movie is truly FANTASTIC. There are lots of truly incredible scenes of the natural beauty of New Zealand's north island. We were very impressed with the camera-work in the scenes where the flags ripple underwater, looking like blood. According to the credits (and the Wikipedia article) it was all filmed on location. And the music is haunting and is still running through my head 24 hours after seeing the movie.Even after traveling to Mauri (native) territory and saving the Mauri chief's life, our heroine is presented as very Pakea (white) in culture and outlook, telling her son she wants to take him to "our home" with the settlers. We found it less than plausible that she wouldn't have expected her 13-year-old son's identification with the Mauri life after 6 years of living with his Mauri grandfather, and by his wanting to go to war (had she never met any teenage boys before?).But that said, one thing we appreciated about this movie is that it didn't glorify the warfare. It didn't show the full blood-and-gore, but there were plenty of dead bodies about. The ending, where the heroine looks back on the futility of the wars, is moving and poignant.We found some of the Irish accents hard to follow, but the DVD offers subtitles.My wife and I have no problems giving this a 10/10.

I enjoyed 'River Queen' better on second viewing. First time through, I found the story-line a tad confusing and even long winded in places. Admittedly, I was also distracted wondering whether it was shot on the Whanganui (I grew up in and around Wanganui - the river has an 'h'; the city doesn't). At the end though, I was happy with the experience. Certainly happy enough to watch it again.On second viewing, familiar with the story and characters and confident in the knowledge that I was indeed looking at the Whanganui, the pace seemed good. I thought the acting good and I loved the scenery (an ex-patriate's nostalgia perhaps?). I particularly appreciated the recreation of warfare in the New Zealand Wars.Others have suggested that the movie was unduly biased towards the Maori. This surprises me as, pakeha though I am, the thought did not cross my mind on either viewing.PS I recently found out that an ancestor of mine was in the Regiment depicted in the movie.

A good example of reversed, politically correct racism where white men are presented as senseless brutes who're only there to be massacred and their aboriginal adversaries as noble heroes, superior both in their appearance and abilities. Apart from making the story overally dull, this also prevents the neutral viewer to identify himself with one or the other side - it's just too simplifying. The repetitive score is incredibly annoying (as is the voice-over), the characters lack any depth and the viewer is soon lost between questions like "who is this character" and "what the hell is that supposed to mean". Photography is wonderful, though, and on the whole there's a lot of atmosphere to it but nice shots of misty landscapes alone don't save this movie. The DVD box uses Kiefer Sutherland as an eye-catcher. In fact, his character could have been played by anyone else because it's basically just an empty shell (like most non-Maori characters), and disappears anyway around halfway the film. But if you are eager to see Jack Bauer in a kilt, that's your kind of movie...

All Vincent Ward's movies have a heart, a visionary heart. It amazes me that he has managed to make as many movies as he has, as none of them have been block busters. They have all been personal and intense, and they have all added something to the world. None of them are just another genre type a,b or c movie. I had heard conflicting reviews about this one, but given his previous films particularly Navigator and What Dreams May Come I just had to go. It really got under my skin, it's a historical drama, but dream, desire, and vision saturate the story, making it like no other.Also being from Aotearoa and with Maori blood having been mixed into my veins, it was fantastic to see such a good film finally being made of that clash of cultures. How personal and close the wars were. The landscape and the Wanganui River were filmed to perfection.This movie haunts me. It's great to finally have another Vincent Ward movie. If only they released the other ones on DVD!