Rent The Convert (2023)

Good tale well told - The Convert review by Alphaville

Off-putting title for a fascinating drama set in 19th-century New Zealand, where tensions run high between English settlers and bloodthirsty Maori tribes. Guy Pearce is a lay preacher caught between various warring factions. There are few dramatic highs, but it does have moments that are tense, moving and even gripping. It’s also beautifully filmed by Lee Tamahori on the New Zealand coast. A solid watch that doesn’t seem too long even at two hours.

A powerful historical drama set in 1830s New Zealand - The Convert review by Philip in Paradiso

In 1830, Thomas Munro (Guy Pearce) is a lay minister from Britain who has just arrived in New Zealand. He is to perform missionary work and to live in a British settlement by the coast, called Epworth. But very quickly, Munro finds himself involved in the bloody clashes opposing 2 local Maori tribes: one led by Maianui, and the other by his arch-enemy, Akatarewa. The story develops from there.

The film is very good at re-creating the early days of the British colony in New Zealand. It also gives us an insight into the warrior culture of the Maori tribes that inhabited the country when the European settlers arrived. Finally, the landscapes are sumptuous: there is something striking, awe-inspiring, primeval and powerful about nature and the wilderness, as we see it through Munro's eyes, in the movie.

It is a very good film and the Maori actors have remarkable on-screen presence, more particularly Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne as Rangimai, daughter of Maianui. My only reservation would be that I found the ending of the film, on a certain level, a little bit flat and somehow underwhelming, as the expression goes: I do not want to say any more so as not to spoil the story for viewers. Overall, it is a rare and memorable film, which you are most unlikely to forget.

Solid Historical Drama - The Convert review by GI

A well constructed historical drama with some bloody battle scenes and a story that has been told in multiple ways, multiple times before although here there's a majesty to it and a considered lead performance from Guy Pearce. He plays Munro, a former British soldier and now lay preacher, who travels to New Zealand in 1830 to be the priest for a white settlement. With an early introduction to the violent rivalries between the local Maori tribes he also soon sees the bigotry and colonial hatreds of the whites towards their hosts but who are willing to commit murder over the slightest offence. Setting off to try and bring some peace to local warring chiefs he soon finds himself questioning his past, his loyalties and getting involved in the fight. It's a watchable film and is probably a bit of a passion piece for director Lee Tamahori who has concentrated on authenticity and thematically attacking the colonial history of the British who bought disease, guns and worse still Christianity with all it's bloody morality!! It's worth checking out.