Nancy Brunning Movies
- 2009
A boy is comfortably haunted by the ghost of his recently deceased sister in this fusion of fantasy and realism from filmmaker Armagan Ballantyne. Kimi (Hato Paparoa) and Melody (Melanie Mayall-Nahi) are twin ten-year-old siblings growing up in a Maori village along the northern coast of New Zealand. Kimi and Melody's parents Gibby (Jim Moriarty) and Joy (Nancy Brunning) scrape together a living raising chickens, and the twins help them along with their teenage brother Gene (Shyane Biddle). When Tai (Isaac Barber), a quiet and mildly eccentric man, moves into a nearby house left empty by the recent death of Tai's grandfather, Kimi and Melody strike up a friendship with him, but when Melody dies during a visit to Tai's house, many in the village believe the new arrival is responsible for her death. Gene feels certain that Tai killed his sister, and he and a gang of youths are determined to get revenge. Kimi, however, isn't sure that his sister is really dead, especially since her spirit follows him as he goes about his chores and reminds him about his duties around the farm. The Strength of Water was an official selection at the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hato Paparoa, Melanie Mayall-Nahi, (more)
- 1999
- NR
The 1994 drama Once Were Warriors told a sad but compelling tale of violence and alcoholism in New Zealand's Maori community, and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? picks up the story several years later, though the focus is less on an individual family than the spread of gang warfare among the modern-day Maori. Jake and Beth Heke (Temuera Morrison and Rena Owen), the combative couple in the first film, have now split up, Beth having lost her patience with Jake's alcoholism and violent temper. Beth has moved on and lives with her new boyfriend, and while Jake also has a new relationship, his binge drinking and violence have continued unabated. Jake's eldest son, Nig (Julian Arahanga) has fared little better in life, and dies in a fight with a member of a rival gang. At Nig's funeral, Jake is confronted by Beth and his younger son, Sonny (Clint Eruera), who feels Jake abandoned his family and doesn't mind telling him so. Sonny decides he must avenge Nig's death and joins forces with Nig's girlfriend Tania (Nancy Brunning) and his pal Mookie (Tammy Davis) to exact their own kind of justice. However, an unpleasant run-in with the Black Snakes gang only earns them more enemies. Jake, meanwhile, is dropped by his girlfriend and sinks even deeper into the abyss of his demons. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? was directed by Ian Mune, continuing the story begun by filmmaker Lee Tamahori. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Temuera Morrison, Clint Eruera, (more)
Garth Maxwell directed this pansexual drama that intertwines the stories of three very different love affairs. Katie Keen (Rena Owen) returns to New Zealand with her one-woman show, moving in with her homosexual friend Stephen (Simon Prast). Meanwhile, Stephen is in love with lyricist Mark (Dean O'Gorman), and aspiring punk rockers Sally (Sophia Hawthorne) and Fig (Nancy Brunning) become involved with one another. This psychological ping-ponging soon results in cries, whispers and recriminations. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rena Owen, Dean O'Gorman, (more)
