Main Cast: Temuera Morrison, Clint Eruera, Nancy Brunning, Pete Smith, Lawrence Makoare
Release Year: 1999
Country: NZ
Run Time: 102 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
The 1994 drama Once Were Warriors told a sad but compelling tale of violence and alcoholism in New Zealand's Maori community, and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? picks up the story several years later, though the focus is less on an individual family than the spread of gang warfare among the modern-day Maori. Jake and Beth Heke (Temuera Morrison and Rena Owen), the combative couple in the first film, have now split up, Beth having lost her patience with Jake's alcoholism and violent temper. Beth has moved on and lives with her new boyfriend, and while Jake also has a new relationship, his binge drinking and violence have continued unabated. Jake's eldest son, Nig (Julian Arahanga) has fared little better in life, and dies in a fight with a member of a rival gang. At Nig's funeral, Jake is confronted by Beth and his younger son, Sonny (Clint Eruera), who feels Jake abandoned his family and doesn't mind telling him so. Sonny decides he must avenge Nig's death and joins forces with Nig's girlfriend Tania (Nancy Brunning) and his pal Mookie (Tammy Davis) to exact their own kind of justice. However, an unpleasant run-in with the Black Snakes gang only earns them more enemies. Jake, meanwhile, is dropped by his girlfriend and sinks even deeper into the abyss of his demons. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? was directed by Ian Mune, continuing the story begun by filmmaker Lee Tamahori. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Temuera Morrison - Associate Producer, Don Selwyn - Casting, Pauline Bowkett - Costume Designer, Tim Barlow - First Assistant Director, Ian Mune - Director, Michael Horton - Editor, John Barnett - Executive Producer, David Hirschfelder - Composer (Music Score), Brett Schwieters - Production Designer, Allen Guilford - Cinematographer, Bill Gavin - Producer, Tony Johnson - Sound/Sound Designer
What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? is a 1999 film, based on Alan Duff's 1996 novel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?. The film was directed by Ian Mune, and starred Temuera Morrison as the abusive Māori husband Jake Heke. The novel What Becomes of The Broken Hearted? is the sequel to Duff's 1990 novel Once Were Warriors, which was itself made into a film of the same name in 1994. The novel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? was followed by another sequel, Jake's Long Shadow, in 2002 (although this has not been made into a film and there are currently no plans to implement it into one).
Temuera Morrison again plays Jake "the Muss" Heke, who is now fighting to save his son from a gang lifestyle after his oldest son is killed in a gangland shootout. Heke goes through a period of hopelessness as he tries to restore his family to a functioning state after his anger and drinking tore them apart in the first film. He still has trouble accepting the old traditional ways of the Māori people but he starts 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 occurring throughout this film, serve to highlight Jake's changing characteristics.
It won nine of its 13 New Zealand Film Award nominations in 1999, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Music etc.[1]
