once were warriors what becomes of the broken heartedscene-speed info

Once Were Warriors 1991
Plot:
Beth Heke left her small town and despite the disapproval of her parents she married Jake "the Muss" Heke - Muss being short for "Muscles." After eighteen years they live in a slum and have five children. Their interpretations of life and being Māori are tested. Since Beth is from a more traditional background she related to the old ways, while Jake is an interpretation of what some Māori have become. Beth sometimes tries to reform herself and her family; for example by giving up drinking and saving the money which she would have spent on alcohol. However she finds it easy to lapse back into a pattern of drinking and irresponsibility. The family is also shown disconnected from Western culture and ways of learning. Beth reflects that neither she nor anyone else she knows has any books in their home, and her daughter, Grace, is the only character with a real interest in school and learning. This disconnection from books and education is a major concern of Duff's, and in real life he has founded the Books in Homes charity which gives free books to children from poor backgrounds, and generally encourages reading.

Jake is unemployed and spends most of the day getting drunk at the local bar with his friends. Here, he is in his element, buying drinks, singing songs and savagely beating any other patron who he considers to have stepped out of line (hence his nickname of 'The Muss'). He often invites huge crowds of friends back from the bar to his home for wild parties. While Jake portrays himself as an easy going man out for a good time, he has a vicious temper when drinking. This is highlighted when his wife dares to 'get lippy' at one of his parties and he savagely attacks her in front of their friends.

Nig, the Hekes' eldest son, moves out to join a street gang. He cares about his siblings, but despises his father for his thoughtless brutality, a feeling returned by the elder Heke. Nig attempts to find a substitute family in the form of the gang, but this is unsuccessful as the gang members are either too brutal or too beaten down (in the case of Nig's gang girlfriend) to provide him with the love and support he craves.

The second son, Mark 'Boogie' Heke, has a history of minor criminal offences, and is taken from his family and placed in a 'borstal' (essentially a prison for children). Despite his initial anger, Mark finds a new niche for himself, as the borstal manager instructs him in his Maori heritage.

Grace, the Heke's thirteen-year-old daughter, loves writing stories, as an escape from the brutality of her real life. She also spends time spying on a wealthy Pakeha family who live nearby. She is amazed at the contrast between their lives and hers - not simply the material wealth but also the lack of conflict in their lives. Grace's best friend is a drug-addicted boy named Toot who has been cast out by his parents and lives in a wrecked car. He is the one who really cares for her.

Grace is raped in her bed one night, and subsequently hangs herself. In her diary, later found by her family, Grace says she thinks it was her father who raped her; Jake, who had been too drunk to remember what happened that night, has no answer. He leaves his family and starts living in a park, where he reflects on his life and befriends a young homeless man. Meanwhile Beth starts a Maori culture group and generally attempts to revive the community.


What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted
Plot:
Temuera Morrison again plays Jake "the Muss" Heke, who is now fighting to save his oldest son from a gang lifestyle after another one of his sons is killed in a gangland shootout. Heke goes through a period of hopelessness as he tries to restore his family to a functioning state after his anger and drinking tore them apart in the first film. He still has trouble accepting the old traditional ways of the Māori people but he starts to realise the importance of family and regrets what his former actions have done to them.