River Queen
Review by Kat

Set in 1860's New Zealand, River Queen, tells the story of a young Irish woman Sarah (played by Samantha Morton) who defies cultural boundaries and falls in love with a Maori boy; after his death she finds herself pregnant with his child, a half cast. When her son - boy's - grandfather Rangi kidnaps him Sarah spends the next 7 years searching the country for her son. Meanwhile rising conflict between the Moari and European settlers result in a war in which Sarah doesn't know which side to choose - those of her people or those of her sons people.

For a low budget New Zealand film River Queen has a great cast including oscar nominated actress Samantha Morton (In America), Keiffer Sutherland (24), and New Zealand actors Cliff Curtis (Runaway Jury, Whale Rider) and Temuera Morrison (Star Wars Episode 2, Once were Warriors). All put in good performances, especially Samantha as the disillusioned mother who knows nothing but her love and longing to find and protect her son.

The film was plagued with problems during production including Samantha falling ill with pnuemonia and delaying production, Cliff Curtis being seriously injured in a car accident and delaying production and the firing then rehiring of director Vincent Ward, yet the film still manages to come out as a strong New Zealand film showing a dark time in the countries history with the beauty of a tranquil untouched New Zealand and two very different races.

The imagery in the film is truly beautiful, the opening sequence especially is breathtaking.

Overall River Queen is a good film, dispite the controversy, definitely worth checking out.