SAVING GRACE [TE WHAKARAUORA TANGATA] (2011)
One of the great creative voices that shaped New Zealand identity on screen, particularly in regards to Māori society, Merata Mita remains sadly under-appreciated by the majority of Kiwis. Her final film Saving Grace (Te Whakarauora Tangata) is a striking study of violence among Māori, where it comes from, and how people are working to combat its toxic effects.
Opening with the powerful juxtaposition of cheerful archival footage intercut with various experts outlining the troubling realities of a culture of Māori violence, Saving Grace wastes no time getting to heart of its issue. Mita and her subjects examine the history of Māori violence, tracing causality back to the beginnings of the colonialism, through the post-WWII period of alcohol-fuelled grieving and frustration, and right up until today.
Opening with the powerful juxtaposition of cheerful archival footage intercut with various experts outlining the troubling realities of a culture of Māori violence, Saving Grace wastes no time getting to heart of its issue. Mita and her subjects examine the history of Māori violence, tracing causality back to the beginnings of the colonialism, through the post-WWII period of alcohol-fuelled grieving and frustration, and right up until today.
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What Mita and the various support groups and whānau featured in Saving Grace are promoting is a return to more traditional values for Māori people throughout NZ. The loss of Māori self-determination under the ruthless greed of colonialism, when the land was carved up and redefined, was the catalyst for the problems in modern Māori society. This forced displacement coupled with the imposition of Christian ideas about propriety and punishment saw a move away from traditional communities, leaving many Māori lost, dependent on the state but unable to access the support of their own people.
Rather than simply pointing the finger however, Saving Grace takes a constructive approach to the issue, positing a more whānau-oriented existence for young Māori in particular. Using a handful of programs currently in place as models, the film is intended to empower Māori leaders to take responsibility for their own destiny and reconnect with tradition. There is no evidence of this shocking violence pre-colonisation, and the Māori community are urged by Mita’s subjects to realise that, despite decades of forced assimilation, they don’t actually need to borrow values from other cultures.
Saving Grace is an enlightening and important work which all New Zealanders, not just Māori, should see. While it offers up some frightening statistics about the cancerous violence happening every day in our country, there is great hope for Māori people if even some of this message gets through.
Rather than simply pointing the finger however, Saving Grace takes a constructive approach to the issue, positing a more whānau-oriented existence for young Māori in particular. Using a handful of programs currently in place as models, the film is intended to empower Māori leaders to take responsibility for their own destiny and reconnect with tradition. There is no evidence of this shocking violence pre-colonisation, and the Māori community are urged by Mita’s subjects to realise that, despite decades of forced assimilation, they don’t actually need to borrow values from other cultures.
Saving Grace is an enlightening and important work which all New Zealanders, not just Māori, should see. While it offers up some frightening statistics about the cancerous violence happening every day in our country, there is great hope for Māori people if even some of this message gets through.
