- Broken Barrier
Infobox Film
name = Broken Barrier
image_size =
caption =
director = John O'SheaRoger Mirams
producer = John O'Shea
Roger Mirams
writer = John O'Shea
narrator =
starring =Kay Ngarimu Terence Bayler
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = NZ Film Archives
released = 1952
runtime = 69 min.
country =New Zealand
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
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website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0219565"Broken Barrier" is a 1952
New Zealand film. It was directed and produced byJohn O'Shea (director) andRoger Mirams , and written by O'Shea. It starredKay Ngarimu andTerence Bayler , and also featuredMira Hape ,Bill Merito andGeorge Ormond ."Broken Barrier" premiered on
10 July 1952 . Filmed in black and white, it had a running length of 69 minutes. The film was the first real attempt at a feature film to be produced in New Zealand since the end ofWorld War II and was filmed on a shoestring budget, and as such was fairly rudimentary and naive, yet was also important at re-establishing the New Zealand film industry.The film addresses mistrust and prejudice between
Pākehā andMāori in New Zealand, portraying a romance between a Pākehā man and a Māori woman. The film was somewhat controversial at its release.The film is about the relationship between Tom Sullivan, a Pākehā journalist, and Rawi, a Māori woman. Sullivan meets Rawi while researching articles on rural Māori life, and he stays for a time with Rawi's family. Rawi's family disapproves of her relationship with a Pākehā man, ending in a quarrel. Later, however, the two are re-united in the city, where Rawi goes to work as a nurse. The two resume their romance, but this time meet with opposition from Sullivan's family and friends, who do not wish him to be involved with a Māori woman. Sullivan eventually comes to agree with their views, and the couple separate once again. Sullivan has a change of heart, however, when he saved from a fire by a Māori friend's sacrifice. Sullivan and Rawi are reunited.
External links
* [http://www.nzfilm.co.nz/FilmCatalogue/Films/Broken-Barrier.aspx New Zealand Film Commission page on Broken Barrier]
*imdb title|id=0219565|title=Broken BarrierReferences
*Martin, H. & Edwards, S. (1997). "New Zealand Film 1912-1996." Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-558336-1.
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