Colonialism has caused irreparable damage to the world, with numerous cultures having been completely erased by mostly European settlers who forced their way of life to convert those they could, and murder those they couldn't in truly terrible ways. Over the centuries since these cultures and nations have been damaged by colonial powers it's been hard for these people to even exist, let alone tell their stories. Thankfully, there has been more of a shift in the last few decades, with more and more people willing to not only listen, but to denounce the actions of their ancestors as horrific. I've enjoyed seeing this shift, and learning the more truthful history of these events and their impact has been hugely educational. As such, I was immediately intrigued by director Lee Tamahori's latest film, The Convert.
Set in the 1830's, the film follows the journey of Thomas Munro (Guy Pearce), a lay preacher who has agreed to travel across the world from his home in England to the new colony of Epworth on the coast of Aotearoa. Along the way the ship he's travelling on must stop to gather timber for repairs, and Munro leaves the ship to explore the new land he'll be calling home for the first time. Whilst exploring, he comes across a clash between two Māori tribes. The chief of one of the tribes, Akatarewa (Lawrence Makoare), is the father of a young Māori man serving on the ship he's travelling on, and so he's able to approach him and ask for mercy for two captured young Māori. Akatarewa agrees to let one live, in exchange for Monro's horse, and kills the others. Thus, Munro ends up becoming the guardian of Rangimai (Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne), the daughter of another tribe's chief.
Continuing on his way to Epworth, with Rangimai at his side, Munro finds a tiny collection of cabins in a harsh and uncaring landscape. And those that call the town home are similar, showing little to no care for the young woman in Munro's care, refusing to give her much needed medical treatment. As Munro settles into his new home he sees the ugly side of the settlers, those that live on Māori land but show no deference to them or their culture. As Munro learns more about the indigenous people he tries to prevent a coming war between them; a decision that will forever change his life.
For a film with a title like The Convert, about a preacher travelling to a land that we know used religion to try to erase the native people, and with a story that seems to try and place a white man into the middle of a situation where he could rise up to be the hero, I was worried about The Convert essentially being a white saviour story. Thankfully, the film subverts these tropes and expectations, instead telling a story about a man learning that he may be wrong about his place in the world, and that his faith and its applications might be incorrect.
The Convert is told from the perspective of Pearce's Munro, and he's in almost every scene of the movie because of this, being our eyes and ears in this setting. Because of this, much of the film rests upon Pearce's shoulders, and how he plays Munro makes or breaks a lot of the film. From the very first scenes of the film he's shown to be a quiet man, one who's happier to watch and learn about others rather than taking the centre stage. He thinks before he acts, and seems to be guided by a strong sense of morality. This becomes even more evident when we reach Epworth, and he's faced with more outward corruption and hostility. You can see a quiet rage simmering away just beneath the surface, and the body language that Pearce has in some of these scenes feels like a man fighting not to explode into action. It's a wonderfully subtle performance, one that's paid off brilliantly later on in the film where we find out about the ghosts he's been carrying with him, and then with where the film leaves his character in the final scenes.
But, this isn't just his story, it's a story about Aotearoa and its people, and as such the film populates itself with some fantastic characters and actors of Māori descent. Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne has the most screen time as Rangimai, a young woman dealing with the murder of her husband right in front of her, whilst finding herself suddenly thrust into a strange new situation as she's taken to Epworth. Ngatai-Melbourne is cold to begin with, wanting little to nothing to do with the man who now essentially 'owns' her. However, as time passes and she heals, and learns that Munro is in fact a decent man there's a wonderful sense of adventure and hope that comes over her. She's eager to learn to speak
English, and her joy at the idea of going to the Epworth town dance is incredibly sweet. It's through her that we also learn a lot about Māori culture, getting to follow her as she returns to her people.
A great deal of the culture and history of these people is given to us via the character of Charlotte (Jacqueline McKenzie), a settler who has been mostly shunned by her own people for having married a Māori man and having had a child with him. Charlotte is Munro's only translator to begin with, and the only person willing to help him with Rangimai when she's sick, and a decent friendship forms between the two of them. She's able to provide Munro, and us the audience, with important information. It would have been easy to make her character quite flat and one-dimensional, but McKenzie injects a lot of heart and pathos into her.
One of the stand out's for the film is Lawrence Makoare as the cruel Akatarewa. We meet two Māori chiefs over the course of the film, and whilst one is fairly kindly, willing to listen to reason, and seemingly quite benevolent, Akatarewa is quick to anger and violence. Makoare creates a character that you not only absolutely hate, but feel incredibly justified in doing so. He's a man revelling in his cruelty, who mocks the people at his mercy, and who wants to be seen as the biggest, badest chief around no matter how many people he slaughters to get there. It feels like Makoare is having a lot of fun with the character, and is enjoying playing the villain, and it really adds to the sneering, cruel quality of the character.
As well as a fantastic cast, the film looks fantastic. The landscape of Aotearoa is put on beautiful display, from lush and gorgeous forests that stretch on for miles, to the fierce coastline that ranges from beautiful coves to windswept expanses of sand. We don't explore the nation a great deal, focusing instead on one small area, but from what we do see the beauty and danger of the land is portrayed wonderfully, and it very much feels like Aotearoa is a land that both challenges and rewards those that call it home. Some of the best looking parts of the film come in the latter half, when we visit Rangimai's home, and get to see how her people live. The settlement is gorgeous, with stunning wooden carvings decorating the gateway inside, as well as the buildings. These are mostly background details, but I kept finding my eye drawn to them whenever they were on screen, hungrily absorbing as much of the beauty of Māori art as possible.
The Convert is a film that would have been very different a few decades ago, where it would have played into the white saviour historical trope that we saw in films like Dances with Wolves, a trope that still continues on today even in fictional settings, with recent movies like Dune, and Avatar playing into this. Instead, The Convert feels like the opposite, it's a white man who's trying to exert his views and his will onto these people because he thinks it'll help them, but in the end ultimately fails. Instead, he's the one who has to learn, who has to see things from a different perspective. The Convert is an apt title because of this, and a film that I think deserves a great deal of attention.
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