Customer Reviews

Broken English [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I saw this $2 million film at the Edmonton film festival in 1997. From the first scene I knew I was seeing a film that was very well thought out - the windshield wipers of a bus traveling through a destroyed Sarajevo are synched to the sound track's beat. The characters were obviously well researched and it is also obvious that the director spent a great deal of time with his cast of unknown actors - there is a startling sex scene that no inexperienced actor could pull off without a great deal of coaching - a scene that caused the film to be rejected by North American distributors and is the reason the film is largely unknown there.

This film was Rade Serbedzija big break. The director, Gregor Nicholas told me after the film that Serbedzija called him one night drunk from London thanking him for making him into a bad guy. Serbedzija was thanking him because he got the roll of the bad guy in The Saint opposite Val Kilmer because of his role in Broken English. He also told me that they had to modify the bus in the first scene so that the wipers would synch with the music.

Finally, the true issue of this film - incest - is so subtle that most people don't even notice it at all.

This movie is completely engrossing. I don't think it's meant to be "accidentally hysterical" or a true depiction of life in NZ, as other reviewers have suggested. The irony of this story is that a Croatian man moves his family to NZ to escape persecution by the Serbs, yet he proceeds to persecute everyone who is different (Fijians, Maoris, Chinese) even though NZ is not even his country. It is a powerful message given the situation in Yugoslavia right now (and for the past 600 years). If a viewer comes away from this movie truly recognizing that the Croat was out of line, then maybe there is a glimmer of hope for TOLERANCE after all.

I really like this movie, but i don't think that it was a romeo and juliet story. I really thought the performances were powerful especially the father's. Also , the look of the film was very impressive.

"Broken English" tells the story of Nina (played by Aleksandra Vujcic) who is actually a CROATIAN refugee (the back of the box states Bosnian). Fleeing the war-torn Balkans the family migrates to New Zealand as Nina's mother was born in this country. Working at a local restaurant Nina meets Eddy, a chef who also happens to be Maori. What ensues is a passionate love affair that dramatically tears Nina's family apart.

I am appalled by the reviewers who hinted that the core issue of this movie is incest. The real themes that dominate are of family loyalties in the the face of trauma and displacement. Moving forward because one is torn from there roots and past is what really fuels the possessiveness of Nina's father (played by Rade Serbedzua). He constantly replays home movies of the war-torn Croatia which upsets him profoundly. During one emotional scene where the family feels drained by the emotions watching re-runs of the war brings out of them the father screams about New Zealand "This is not my country!" He fears for his families life to the point where he tries to control each member minute by minute. He has already "lost his country" now he wants to keep his family intact by any means necessary (by any means necessary including emotional & physical abuse). Nina's boyfriend Eddy also feels displaced as he comes from traditional Maori roots but now lives in the city. He has spent substantial time away from his home and harbours guilt he was not there when his father died. Than there is the added dimension of Chinese migrants who have willingly come to New Zealand to create a new life and become "kiwis" showing how people relate to the culture from 3 different perspectives.

The layers of pain within the Croatian family is profound and one I know too well (being a woman of Croatian descent raised in Australia). This film conveys well that roots run deep but a brighter future is what one should live for instead of dwelling in the darkness of the past and the emotions and insular alliances such emotions birth. It also shows authentically the many racial & class divisions that run rampant in New Zealand (as well as Australian) communities. How the melting pot is far from peaceful and how people are conflicted about having to adapt to the many differences around them. I like the film and recommend it to all who have a genuine interest in seeing what life is like for non- Anglo Saxon people in the Southern Hemisphere.

I didn't really know what to expect with broken english but I was pleased at how well the movie was shot. The story line is definetely unique to say. A croat immigrant to new zealand with new zealand citizenship being paid by a chinese immigrant so he can stay in the country while falling in love with a maori man to her father's displeasure. The movie is intense with some really great acting in it.

it was a beautiful movie, everything from the acting to the story, the accents (Broken English) i loved it. i saw this movie in my video store when i was 13, they had the NC17 copy :D
tho it does have an AWESOME sex scene (it's short, so you have to rewind alot :P ) its the story and the actors that really made this an unforgettable movie. i was and still am really surprised that it never came out on DVD, and hate that other "Broken English" movie for having the same name; so if i mention this movie everyone thinks i mean the other parker movie. this is one of my top all time favorite movies and i highly recommended to anyone that is a hardcore movie fan, and if you like the amazing ONCE WERE WARRIORS than YEAH you'll love this. :)

This film is wonderfully shot with some brilliant performances. Symbolism is carefully used, and the problems the characters face are real. It is easy to empathize with the cast as they move through a vibrant and exciting portion of their own complex lives. END

i did not really enjoy the director's take on contemporary life in new zealand or his depiction(wrongheaded) of immigrants from the former yugoslavia. the movie is not as funny as the reviewer from the usa states in his assessment,and does attempt, with some success to tell a troubled love story.the plot is fine, but the script is flawed.some fine performances,nonetheless.oh, and by the way maestro, the spelling is "whakapapa"...just for future reference.

I expected something more from this film... something more culturally interesting, but all I found was two people who happen to be from different cultures who really like each other sexually and think they are in love, although I cannot see how, in the brief amount of time that they have known one another, they could know much about each other. The woman, a Croatian immigrant who happens to have New Zealand citizenship, marries a Chinese man just so that he and his Chinese girlfriend can stay in the country. Meanwhile the Croatian woman (Nina) is having her passionate love affair with a Maori (or part Maori) local man named Eddie. Yes, they have passionate relations and yes, this film displays those relations gratuitously. Nina's family (particularly the father played by Rade Serbedzija) is very violent and none too pleased with her choice of mates. However, their disapproval goes a bit too far into unreality when the father bars Nina into her room after she nearly suffers a miscarriage. Yes, she does end up pregnant (without telling Eddie-this is after they have a fight and break up)... and yes, she does end up estranged from her father forever after. It was entertaining. I could sit and watch it. But it is not something I would necessarily recommend.

personally I found the film repellent on every level.
One reviewer pointed out that incest between the daughter and the father was the real theme. I watched it and thought - wow - do all eastern block women dress like hookers? I thought the women were supposed to be chaste and virgins and she looked like she worked the streets. Anyway, it just helped me think - yes , immigration is something that should be banned, since the people who immigate are such unlikeable sorts.