4 MAY 1985, Page 35

Cinema

Return of the natives

Peter Ackroyd

Utu ('15', selected cinemas)

Here is another curiosity, a film from New Zealand in which Maoris play the starring roles. Utu (which sounds like the name of a pop group, but is apparently the Maori word for 'retribution') is set in 1870 and is concerned with the unhappy relations between settlers and natives: this is.an old theme, and almost from the begin- ning it is given that epic quality which is Renerally associated with American 'Wes- terns' of a similar kind. On this occasion the Maoris are the Indians and the colo- nials are the cowboys — but there the re- semblance ends since, although the film is

marked by death and destruction from the opening scenes, it is remarkable principally for the shared sense of humour and communal set of attitudes which link the Maoris and the new breed of white New Zealanders. Like most films of this kind it veers haphazardly on the side of the 'op- pressed' rather than the 'oppressors', but in this case the latter category is represen- ted only by some daft English officers who are as withering about the new 'colonials' as they are about the natives.

This lends the film a quirkiness, almost a naivety, which produces a range of very interesting effects — and although the ac- ting is of a rather formal nature, and the script itself verges upon the ornate, these faults do not seem very important in a pro- duction which is directed with great style and skill. It has the grandness and the self- confidence of the archetypal 'Western', but it is not so restrained by the formal limita- tions of that genre and on occasions starts playing tricks with the conventional as- sumptions of the audience.

The setting itself is interesting enough and, although there are a few moments when New Zealand looks like a glorified version of Richmond Park, the prevailing impression is one of isolation and empti- ness. The scenery is obviously very 'beauti- ful', with chasms and waterfalls round practically every corner, but the splendour of this landscape only serves to reinforce the isolation of the characters who are brave enough to attempt to inhabit it. As a result, the film becomes in part a portrait of settlers who really were 'pioneers', nota- bly when they come face to face with a native culture which they cannot under- stand. These moments of confrontation are particularly well done, although perhaps we could have been spared some of the bloodier moments: I suppose it is a sign of the director's skill that he is able to combine comedy and tension in a marked manner, but nevertheless this is not a film for the nervous.

What Utu tells us about New Zealand, then, is not altogether reassuring: certainly the film seems to be fascinated by violence, which is often combined with a bizarre reli- giosity, and the Maoris themselves are pre- sented with a sort of fascinated horror. In some ways they become sympathetic fi- gures but in other respects they are almost demonic, and it is one of the merits of this film that it does not try to 'explain' or 'interpret' native behaviour. There are even times when the narrative seems unfas- hionably antagonistic to the native cause: the Maoris are often seen to behave in a brutal or ridiculous manner, and much of their aggression is diverted into the pulling of funny faces at their white victims (al- though it has to be said that this is not a pretty sight, and seems only to add to that air of superstitious dread which they pro- voke in others).

The plot itself is not always easy to fol- low, but it was largely concerned with the attempts of a detachment of colonial troops to track down and kill a marauding Maori patriot, Te Wheke, in his struggle against alien dominion. But the narrative is less important than the air of violence and futility which it evokes, and the fact that both soldiers and Maoris speak with the same accent only adds to the general im- pression that it was all an unnecessary mess. Historically this may or may not be accurate — and it is perhaps a weakness of this film that it does not attempt to des- cribe the economic and social circums- tances of its main protagonists.

But this, also, is a minor flaw in an otherwise distinctive film — a film unusual, particularly, in its ability to move from comedy to melodrama, sympathetic por- trayal to hostile caricature, without any no- ticeable strain. As a result, Lhu is firmly to be distinguished from the usual run of 'frontier' films: it is not without problems of tone and even construction, but it is animated by a unique spirit of the bizarre and the adventurous. And the perfor- mance of Anzac Wallace as Te Wheke, cavorting like a gargoyle come briefly to life, is not to be missed.