What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

You know the rules. You gotta earn your keep sister.

– Gang leader Apeman (Pete Smith) to recent arrival Tania (Nancy Brunning)

A real stand out, however, is Nancy Brunning. As gang moll Tania she exudes a quiet, soul-bruised and angry power . . . Watch, too, for Rawiri Paratene's gripping supporting turn as ex-con gang lieutenant Mulla.

– NZ Herald critic Russell Baillie, in a three star review, 1999

...there'll be inevitable comparisons, but people will quickly see that it's a story that exists in its own right. And I think they'll find it more complex and in many cases more subtle.

– Author turned scriptwriter Alan Duff compares the two films, on page 6 of the Broken Hearted press kit

Rawiri's a wonderful comic actor and has a wonderful light touch. He was utterly wrong for Mulla. I would never have auditioned him, but the casting agents did and I couldn't believe it, so I auditioned him myself  . . He was great. I couldn't argue.

– Director Ian Mune on casting Rawiri Paratene as veteran gang member Mulla Rota, in the press kit for the film, page 22

This sequel to Once Were Warriors seems less grounded in realism than its predecessor and suffers for it in a way. But this story of the salvation of Jake has a mesmerising quality, letting us enter into a world, a violent one, that exposes the dislocation and alienation of a culture. Temuera Morrison is dynamic as Jake, you can't take your eyes off him when he's on screen. He's very ably supported by Clint Eruera as Sonny and particularly Nancy Brunning as Tania. Director Ian Mune gives an important energy to the film so that you emerge, after a rather abrupt ending, moved and shattered once again by the forces operating in the disadvantaged Māori community in New Zealand.

– Australian reviewer Margaret Pomeranz, SBS website, 1 January 2009

I didn't care whether she could sing or not. Nobody else had that magic combination of appearance, personality and talent that she had. And as it turned out, she sings beautifully.

– Director Ian Mune on casting Nancy Brunning as Tania, who has to sing in one scene, on page 8 of the press kit

More than just a sequel, Broken Hearted is an entity in its own right . . . resonates with its own energy and adrenalin, beauty and grace.

– Dominion reviewer Matthew Grainger, 1999

This sequel to Once Were Warriors lacks the shock value of its 1994 predecessor. But in terms of film craft I'm not sure this isn't the superior film — the acting is more consistent, the tone less hysterical...

– The Australian, reviewing the film's video release

...one of the elements I was most involved in was ensuring this was a stand-alone project. It does take the world of Once Were Warriors, it takes some of the characters from there and the final situation of that story. But that just sets up the first building block, and from that point on it's a totally different story.

– Director Ian Mune, on page 6 of the Broken Hearted press kit

Nobody goes to see a film about the IRA and believes all Irish are in the IRA, in the same way as nobody sees The Godfather and believes all Italians are in the Mafia. It's nonsense if people say this is portraying New Zealand as anything — it is simply telling a story.

– Writer Alan Duff, on page 12 of the Broken Hearted press kit

The actors all play their roles with conviction and truth . . . The beauty, strength and character of the faces strikes you time and again.

– Critic Helene Wong, in a 1999 Listener review

...what Broken Hearted lacks in atmosphere and cohesiveness it makes up for in some electric performances and scenes which etch themselves on the brain in the same way that Warriors did. In short, it does enough to be not only a worthy but a worthwhile sequel. But it falls well short of being an equal.

– NZ Herald writer Russell Baillie, in a three star review, May 1999

Allen's lighting was very much aimed at sculpting the faces and taking out all the other colours, so the brown skins came through. We really had to light it strong so the faces really spoke.

– Director Ian Mune on the work of cinematographer Allen Guilford, on page 35 of the press kit

Bloody men. You bastards think you're the only ones who suffer.

– Tania (Nancy Brunning), to Sonny (Clint Eruera)

A lot of this stuff is like armour for the actors. It helps them create themselves and give themselves the right attitude when they look in the mirror. You don't know where the tattoos stop or start, their cars, their wardrobe, it all becomes one big blend.

– Tattoo artist Inia Taylor on the importance of tattoos and costumes for the cast, in the Broken Hearted press kit, page 14

Although he was in both books, filmgoers will have to assume that he was being raised by his grandparents or something. But he and Jake are father and son, no question.

– Director Ian Mune on the key character of Sonny being missing from the first film, in the Broken Hearted press kit, page 8

...a gang moll who's been swinging from gang to gang since she was about 13, so she's been able to suss out how's she supposed to behave and what her role is. She's a survivor with a hell of a lot going on inside her, but a thick skin. She doesn't let anyone see her vulnerability.

– Nancy Brunning describes her character of Tania, on page 19 of the press kit

As soon as I put Clint and Tammy together I had a pair, like Butch and Sundance . . . Tammy has this wicked sense of humour and beautiful comic timing, and he fitted in perfectly with the heavier role of Sonny.

– Director Ian Mune on casting fellow Northland Polytechnic acting graduates Clint Eruera and Tammy Davis, on page 18 of the Broken Hearted press kit

It was initially kind of frightening, but I had Alan Duff, Don Selwyn, Tem [Morrison] and Rena [Owen] — I lived in a Māori world basically, and was surrounded by people who were all happy to advise and support me.

– Ian Mune on directing an "essentially" Māori story, in the Broken Hearted press kit, page 9

The acting is mostly superb, heartfelt. Temuera Morrison carries the burden of Jake with an honesty that is quite remarkable. His contribution to what is probably the greatest single character in New Zealand film is quite stunning in this episode . . . Clint Eruera tackles the big role of Sonny with talent to burn, and Rawiiri Paratene adds a special presence as the wise old gang member Mulla Rota.

– Critic Michael Lamb, in The Sunday-Star Times, 1999

Although [Temuera] Morrison takes a back seat for much of the drama, his imposing presence dominates every scene he’s in, and he succeeds in giving the self-destructive Jake a tragic dimension as he struggles to redeem himself. [Rena] Owen briefly impresses again as Beth, and there are strong performances from the younger actors, especially [Clint] Eruera and [Nancy] Brunning. Director Ian Mune (Came a Hot Friday) was a good choice to handle this material, which, although less original and less confrontational than the first film, still works well as a thriller with a resonant social dimension.

– Reviewer David Stratton in Variety, 31 May 1999