Crooked Earth
Back to browse
75% Critic Match

Crooked Earth

7.5 / 10 2001NR English
Drama

Storyline

Will Bastion returns home from the army after an absence of 20 years to bury his father, the former chief of thee Maori tribe, Ngati Kaipuku. The eldest son, he is reluctant to inherit his fathers role, so it is taken more willingly by his younger brother, Kahu. Kahu is the leader of a band of drug dealers and trouble-makers who ride horses through the middle of town, wrecking peoples gardens. Under the guise of refusal of a land settlement, Kahu makes a large marijuana deal with some murdering city folk. Will must choose between loyalty for his brother and his father, Maori tradition, and contemporary financial issues.

Cast & Crew

Temuera Morrison

Temuera Morrison

Will Bastion

Lead
Jaime Passier-Armstrong

Jaime Passier-Armstrong

Ripeka Bastion

Lawrence Makoare

Lawrence Makoare

Kahu Bastion

QH

Quinton Hita

Api

Nancy Brunning

Nancy Brunning

Marama

Mark Nua

Mark Nua

Iosefa

Sydney Jackson

Sydney Jackson

Pettigrew

George Henare

George Henare

Tipene

What People Are Saying

4.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Sam Pillsbury's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
4.0
Every frame feels alive. Crooked Earth is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker