Broken Barrier

Name: Broken Barrier
Released: 1952
Rating: 31.9
Cast: Terence Bayler, Kay Ngarimu, Myra Hapi

1952

Romance, Drama

1h 9m

Broken Barrier marked the first NZ dramatic feature since 1940. Its production saw makers John O'Shea and Roger Mirams crowd into a Vauxhall with a rickety dolly and two silent cameras, one picked up "from a dead German in the Western Desert". Ditching dialogue for 'spoken thoughts', the pioneering film examines cultural complications in a romance between a Pakeha journalist and a Maori nurse. According to O'Shea, some viewers considered it "a dirty movie" for spurring mixed race relationships.

Broken Barrier

1952

Romance, Drama

1h 9m

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Avg Percentile 31.93% from 5 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

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PUNQ

Rated 16 Apr 2024

The only feature film to come out of New Zealand in the 1950s! One about interracial romance as a white man and a Maori lady fall in love, face discrimination. The production is beyond basic, as they didn't have sound equipment, and instead had to add music, with a narrator guiding us through the dialogue and thoughts of the characters. Feels sort of semi-documentary-like because of it, at the same time it having that cozy montage film type feel. All humble and naive.

Rated 16 Apr 2024

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brrrp

Rated 19 Feb 2024

An odd film that has a number of intriguing elements, notably, the dialogue presented as 'spoken thought' but it's not great. Some pretty good framing of the obligatory New Zealand scenic views. This is not a period that I've explored at all in New Zealand film (pre-70's). It was a surprise to discover how many, though still few by comparison to almost everywhere else, were in fact produced.

Rated 19 Feb 2024

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