DVD | River Queen

Rating: M – Contains Violence.
Duration: 109 mins.
Genre : Drama.
Actors: Kiefer Sutherland, Stephen Rea, Cliff Curtis, Samantha Morton, Temuera Morrison, Anton Lesser, Rawiri Pene, Wi Kuki Kaa.
Release Date: Available now.

River Queen is an interesting movie and a fascinating story that starts off rather haphazardly and confusing.

Essentially a story focussed an Irish immigrant called Sarah, the focus tends to lurch around a lot in the first half of the movie, making the whole affair somewhat of a chore to endure. But when the movie settles down in its direction and focus in the latter stages of the movie, Vincent Ward delivers a historical epic that takes an interesting look at conflicting cultures and what it really means to be a family.

The subject of Colonisation and subsequent war is handled well, and neither side comes out smelling of roses, in fact redemption seems on offer only for four of the central characters. Everyone else is painted with a rather bleak brush. It’s possible Ward is trying to say something about man’s inherently aggressive nature, rather than taking sides in a conflict that still causing grief today.

Visually, the movie can’t fail. With New Zealand as its backdrop, amazing vistas are everywhere. Pace wise, as mentioned before, River Queen takes a while to find it’s groove, but when it does the pace picks up and we’re left wondering just how the story will pan out.

Food for thought
How do you define family, and what would you do to protect yours?