What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (film)
| What Becomes of The Broken Hearted? | |
|---|---|
 Movie promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Ian Mune |
| Produced by | Bill Gavin |
| Written by | Alan Duff |
| Starring |
Temuera Morrison Clint Eruera Nancy Brunning Julian Arahanga Rena Owen |
| Music by | David Hirschfelder |
| Cinematography | Allen Guilford |
| Edited by | Michael Horton |
| Distributed by | South Pacific Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Language | English |
What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? is a 1999 film, directed by Ian Mune and starring Temuera Morrison as an abusive Māori husband Jake "the Muss" Heke. The film is based on Alan Duff's novel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1996), the sequel to Once Were Warriors (1990), which was made into the film Once Were Warriors (1994).
Plot
Jake "the Muss" Heke is fighting to save his son Sonny from a gang lifestyle after his eldest son, Nig, is killed in a gangland shootout. Jake goes through a period of hopelessness as he tries to restore his family to a functioning state after his anger, drinking, and violence (depicted in the first film) tore them apart. He still has trouble accepting the old traditional ways of the Māori people, but he begins to realise the importance of family and regrets what his former actions have done to them. Towards the end of the film, Jake does his best to reconcile with his family, even going so far as to save his son's life despite great personal risk to himself. This action, along with several others, serve to highlight Jake's changing characteristics.
Cast
- Temuera Morrison as Jake "the Muss" Heke
- Rena Owen as Beth Heke
- Julian Arahanga as Nig Heke
- Clint Eruera as Sonny Heke
- Taungaroa Emile as Mark "Boogie" Heke
- Nancy Brunning as Tania Rogers
- Tammy Davis as Mookie
- Eru Potaka-Dewes as Minata Kahu
- Lawrence Makoare as Grunt
- Pete Smith as Apeman
- Rawiri Paratene as Mulla Rota
Awards
New Zealand Film and TV Awards
What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? won nine of its 13 New Zealand Film Award nominations in 1999, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Music.[1]