A young boy has some troubles in his daily life, so his parents hired a caregiver to look after him. Unfortunately, things went wrong and the boy is dead but the real surprise is that he dead by his caregiver.
Although perhaps a tough-sell on paper, Waru stands a sturdy testament to the way film can generate resonant art from difficult subject matter. All New Zealanders should see it.
Invariably there is a piece that falls short, but these precise snapshots mostly add up to a telling contemporary portrait of the stresses and self-deception that are at work in New Zealand's Maori community.
This film is beautiful, bold, gorgeously well made and utterly essential to any understanding or appreciation of New Zealand film-making and this country as it exists today.
A fascinating glimpse into New Zealand's contemporary Maori community, Waru brings a sense of dramatic, urgent realism to a story that plays out like a suspenseful mystery.