Vioundon One hour and a half of nothing

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

triesen This movie is a waste of money and time. I spent $45 for a VHS copy on Amazon - yikes. With the exception of the talented actor Marton Csokas this flick has horrible acting, directing, editing, etc. In the beginning credits Marton is listed at #2 yet is hardly in it - too bad his talents were wasted. Being the main character's brother 'Darko's character could have been explored more in depth. This is an old story of girl meets boy each from a different 'world', cultures clash, dad has an unhealthy obsession with his daughter, mother is weak and afraid of her husband, husband is paranoid, racist and tyrannical. Everyone does not know the difference between love and lust - well so what else is new?

rmalcus-1 I really liked this film. It was a love story like West Side Story. It has probably been 7 or 8 years since I last saw this film. I think a film is especially meaningful when it is related to some real crisis or event. In the case it was the migration of Croatian refugees to New Zealand and their conflicts with the Maori which said a lot about the issues of race, class and ethnicity.But what has really stuck with me was the music. The recurring gypsy/tango musical interlude made the film for me. It is in my ears right now sort of like the theme for "Last Tango in Paris". I thought there was no published soundtrack made for this film. Please if you are aware of where to obtain a copy of this soundtrack, please let me know.

nixar55 This movie was hard to track down. Living as I do in America, I had to order a VHS copy. I saw the NC-17 version, by the way, which I didn't find to be too graphic. The sex scene was extremely sexy and I thought the actors playing Nina and Eddie, the young couple at the center of the movie, had a ton of chemistry. You could believe they were attracted to each other. Nina, the Croation daughter of Ivan, was an interesting character: a wild rebel and a scared child eager to remain her father's favorite all in one. The actor who played Ivan did the best job, as a man who fled his homeland due to ethnic cleansing and finds himself obsessed with race and dissatisfied with his new life in New Zealand. The beginning half of this movie was more enjoyable than the latter half, when the story devolves into a slightly predictable romantic comedy and none of the interesting implications about class, race, and family are dealt with in a serious way. However, a lot of romantic movies never even ask the audience to think about anything greater at all, so Broken English still comes out ahead of more traditional movie fare. Perhaps it's because this movie comes from the producers of "Once Were Warriors" which is one of my favorite dramas of all time. Watch for the romance between Nina and Eddie (played by Julien Arahanga from "Once Were Warriors",) Ivan, and Martin Csokas' portrayal of Ivan's menacing son.

George Parker "Broken English" is about a Croatian woman who lives with her old world parents in New Zealand and falls in love with a Maori man which, of course, causes problems while she acts as though she had no clue that would happen. Duh. Though it manages a modicum of entertainment, this film seems to know where it wants to go but has to pound square characters through round holes to make the plot work. In the process there are too many tongue clucking moments where the film's credibility is breached such as when a modern Maori man fights and chants like an ancient Maori warrior or a woman swims with dolphins which, as we learn, they only do with pregnant women...yeah, right. The characters in "Broken English" are in serious need of some conflict resolution...something which no one seeks as it would destroy the contrived drama. "Once Were Warriors" this film is not. However, it is an okay watch for those into Kiwi flicks with time on their hands. (C+)