A lay minister’s battle-scarred past draws him into unanticipated bloody conflicts upon his arrival in 19th century New Zealand. Starring Guy Pearce, Lee Tamahori’s The Convert opened the Manchester Film Festival 2024.
Having had its premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, Lee Tamahori’s 19th century-set drama The Convert opened proceedings at this year’s Manchester Film Festival ahead of its release in Australia in April.
Guy Pearce takes the lead as British lay clergyman Thomas Munro, who we meet on board a trading ship heading for the colonial settlement of Epworth, where he has been appointed to minister to the spiritual needs of the white population there. His first contact with the land that we now know as Aotearoa New Zealand is astride a white horse, coming ashore as the very epitome of a white saviour. But Munro is a more complex character as a result of his experiences in the British Army, and he eventually finds himself at a distance from the racism of the Pākehā colonialists and a pawn between two rival Māori tribes.
On his arrival, Munro is instrumental in saving the life of a young Māori woman, Rangimai (Tioreore Ngati-Melbourne), and is then given the task of educating her by her father Maianui (Antonio Te Maioha), who is one of the warring chiefs on whose land the British have settled. A serious event in Epworth sends Munro off as an arbitrator between two Māori tribes, who have not yet grasped that being at odds with each other is playing directly into British hands.
Some absolutely brutal action sequences contrast heavily with the lush and beautiful landscapes of New Zealand. In a post-screening, pre-recorded interview with Lee Tamahori, the director talked about the struggles of finding filming terrain which resembled the 19th century islands, but his agreement to work carefully with protected areas resulted in some glorious natural backdrops to the emerging standoff between settlers and indigenous people, and between different Māori iwi.
Stories of the experience of colonisation in the South Pacific are few and far between, and so it’s disappointing that, beyond one scene where we learn a little more deeply about Thomas Munro’s experiences and how that affects his view of his current situation, the rest of the characters are more caricatures whom we hardly get to know at all. The Convert relies a touch too heavily on Charlotte (Jacqueline McKenzie) for example, a white woman with an interesting background which is glossed over to allow the convenience of her being able to translate between the Māori and English speakers, and being an unnecessary love interest. Even Rangimai, the young woman who will play a major part in proceedings, seems a little too childlike given her life experience.
I have a soft spot for New Zealand and its films and so am predisposed to forgive some of the caricatures, but it does irk a little that the two significant female characters, whose skills and actions are pivotal to everything, are barely rounded tropes.
All that said, I overheard a couple of people leaving the screening discussing how they knew nothing of the historical context, did not know what to expect going into the cinema, and had enjoyed it immensely. The Convert therefore is ticking some of the correct boxes and was definitely a crowd draw to open the Film Festival on a positive note.
The Convert was the Opening Night Gala Premiere at the Manchester Film Festival 2024.
A lay minister’s battle-scarred past draws him into unanticipated bloody conflicts upon his arrival in 19th century New Zealand. Starring Guy Pearce, Lee Tamahori’s The Convert opened the Manchester Film Festival 2024.
Having had its premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, Lee Tamahori’s 19th century-set drama The Convert opened proceedings at this year’s Manchester Film Festival ahead of its release in Australia in April.
Guy Pearce takes the lead as British lay clergyman Thomas Munro, who we meet on board a trading ship heading for the colonial settlement of Epworth, where he has been appointed to minister to the spiritual needs of the white population there. His first contact with the land that we now know as Aotearoa New Zealand is astride a white horse, coming ashore as the very epitome of a white saviour. But Munro is a more complex character as a result of his experiences in the British Army, and he eventually finds himself at a distance from the racism of the Pākehā colonialists and a pawn between two rival Māori tribes.
On his arrival, Munro is instrumental in saving the life of a young Māori woman, Rangimai (Tioreore Ngati-Melbourne), and is then given the task of educating her by her father Maianui (Antonio Te Maioha), who is one of the warring chiefs on whose land the British have settled. A serious event in Epworth sends Munro off as an arbitrator between two Māori tribes, who have not yet grasped that being at odds with each other is playing directly into British hands.
Some absolutely brutal action sequences contrast heavily with the lush and beautiful landscapes of New Zealand. In a post-screening, pre-recorded interview with Lee Tamahori, the director talked about the struggles of finding filming terrain which resembled the 19th century islands, but his agreement to work carefully with protected areas resulted in some glorious natural backdrops to the emerging standoff between settlers and indigenous people, and between different Māori iwi.
Stories of the experience of colonisation in the South Pacific are few and far between, and so it’s disappointing that, beyond one scene where we learn a little more deeply about Thomas Munro’s experiences and how that affects his view of his current situation, the rest of the characters are more caricatures whom we hardly get to know at all. The Convert relies a touch too heavily on Charlotte (Jacqueline McKenzie) for example, a white woman with an interesting background which is glossed over to allow the convenience of her being able to translate between the Māori and English speakers, and being an unnecessary love interest. Even Rangimai, the young woman who will play a major part in proceedings, seems a little too childlike given her life experience.
I have a soft spot for New Zealand and its films and so am predisposed to forgive some of the caricatures, but it does irk a little that the two significant female characters, whose skills and actions are pivotal to everything, are barely rounded tropes.
All that said, I overheard a couple of people leaving the screening discussing how they knew nothing of the historical context, did not know what to expect going into the cinema, and had enjoyed it immensely. The Convert therefore is ticking some of the correct boxes and was definitely a crowd draw to open the Film Festival on a positive note.
The Convert was the Opening Night Gala Premiere at the Manchester Film Festival 2024.
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