This Way of Life
"What do I do for a living? I live for a living" - Peter Karena. This is a must-see movie. Directed by Tom Burstyn and shot over a 4 year period, this movie/doco is just simply uplifting. It's that rare sort of film that draws you in and makes you leave the theatre just feeling really good, and incredibly proud that this is a New Zealand film about New Zealanders. The movie has earned international acclaim from around the world and audiences and critics alike were wowed by this moving and compelling slice of real life.
The following synopsis is from the official website at www.thiswayoflifemovie.com:
"Shot over four years, This Way of Life is an intimate portrait of Peter Karena and his family. Masterful in the saddle and Hollywood handsome, Peter lives by an internal code of values and honor largely lost in modern times. Though European, Peter was adopted into a Maori family and is Maori in all but skin. He is a horse-whisperer, philosopher, hunter, and builder, a husband and father. Despite seemingly overwhelming challenges, Peter refuses to compromise. Especially troubling to Peter is his broken relationship with his adopted father – a malevolent man who refuses to leave him alone.
The film portrays the intimate life of the Karena family. In their early 30’s, Peter and Colleen have six kids and 50 horses. We follow them up into the Ruahine ranges and down to their hidden beach camp. Against these isolated backdrops we explore family relationships, their connection to nature, their keen survival skills and their absolute intimacy with each other and their horses.
We watch as Peter and Colleen celebrate the birth of a child and cope with a late miscarriage. Their attempts to navigate the discord between Peter and his father culminate in the theft of his valuable herd of horses and the burning of their beloved family home. Now homeless, we watch as Peter steers his family toward a new way of living and being. Regardless of their hardships, the Karenas manage to never lose sight of the magic in the everyday. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Karena children. Untamed and unafraid, the idea of risk is alien to them. To watch seven-year-old Aurora expertly ride a massive stallion bareback with no more than a rope halter asks us to reexamine our ideas of what children are capable of. In This Way of Life, the Karenas unite their philosophy with their circumstances, turning hardship into a meaningful and satisfying life."
Watch the trailers here and whatever you do, go see this compelling insight into how family life SHOULD be.