Cousins

Cousins

A moving tribute to the lives of three Māori women in colonial New Zealand

7.0

Movie

New-Zealand
English, Maori
Drama
AINSLEY GARDINER, BRIAR GRACE SMITH
Ana Scotney, Briar Grace Smith, Calvin Tuteao
98 min

What it's about

Separated as children, three cousins with an unshakable bond confront their painful pasts and embark on an emotional journey to find each other.

The take

This excellent new drama is about three indigenous Māori women and their upbringing in colonial New Zealand.

The story is split into two timelines: the present, where two of them are trying to protect their ancestral land from a government project, while the third, Makareta, is wandering aimlessly through a big city. And the past, the story of how they got separated and how Makareta got taken away by a residential-school-like orphanage.

It's a heartbreaking tale, one of how a people can be ravaged by colonialism and decades of discrimination. But being focused on the personal lives of the three women, it’s also heartwarming and deeply humane.

Comments

Add a comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

Art of Love (2024)

An underwhelming heist romance with all of the style but none of the thrills

5.7

System Crasher (2019)

A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.

9.0

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Shyamalan meets Black Mirror in this hugely entertaining, visually inventive apocalyptic thriller with a killer ending

8.2

The Monk and the Gun (2024)

Pawo Choyning Dorji depicts Bhutan through this fascinatingly gentle comedy during its shift to democracy

8.1

Poison for the Fairies (1986)

Two Mexican schoolgirls forge a frightening friendship in this morbid coming-of-age horror

7.8

Hail Satan? (2019)

Forget everything you think you know about the Satanic Temple

8.0

Thank You, I’m Sorry (2023)

Estranged sisters reconnect amidst grief and bizarre comedy in this understated Swedish drama

6.5

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.