Movies Similar to Crooked Earth

Mauri(1988)

Rewi Rapana returns to the small country town of Te Mata after his family has left the district. His arrival rekindles old tensions as well as renewing family ties. He is seeking an identity and a permanent place to call home yet desperately hiding a secret from his past. Oddly enough there is one person with whom he finds peace of mind. She is an old woman known as Kara. A special relationship develops between Rewi, Kara and Kara’s great granddaughter Awatea.

6.5

Out of the Blue(2006)

Ordinary people find extraordinary courage in the face of madness. On 13–14 November 1990 that madness came to Aramoana, a small New Zealand seaside town, in the form of a lone gunman with a high-powered semi-automatic rifle. As he stalked his victims the terrified and confused residents were trapped for 24 hours while a handful of under-resourced and under-armed local policemen risked their lives trying to find him and save the survivors. Based on true events.

6.5

The World's Fastest Indian(2005)

The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle—a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.

7.7

Ablaze(2019)

In November 1947 forty-one people died in a massive blaze that gutted the huge Ballantynes Department Store complex in the heart of Christchurch’s business district. This is the tragic story of New Zealand’s worst fire disaster.

0.0

Night Shift(2012)

Follows a cleaning lady going through an overnight shift at an airport. Her actions throughout may seem selfish and heartless but they all become incredibly understandable at the end.

8.0

The Piano(1993)

When an arranged marriage brings Ada and her spirited daughter to the wilderness of nineteenth-century New Zealand, she finds herself locked in a battle of wills with both her controlling husband and a rugged frontiersman to whom she develops a forbidden attraction.

7.4

Whale Rider(2003)

A contemporary story of love, rejection, and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.

7.1

In My Father's Den(2004)

War journalist Paul Prior returns to his New Zealand hometown after his father’s death, rekindling strained relationships with his brother and memories of a troubled past. He befriends Celia, a curious and aspiring writer, who shares a fascination with his world. When Celia mysteriously disappears, Paul becomes the prime suspect, forcing him to confront buried secrets and uncover the dark truths of his family and community.

7.0

An Angel at My Table(1990)

Based on the autobiographical work of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, this production depicts the author at various stage of her life. Afflicted with mental and emotional issues, Frame grows up in an impoverished family and experiences numerous tragedies while still in her youth, including the deaths of two of her siblings. Portrayed as an adult by Kerry Fox, Frame finds acclaim for her writing while still in a mental institution, and her success helps her move on with her life.

7.0

Constance(1985)

Constance is a bored, movie-loving schoolteacher in post-WW2 New Zealand who begins to fantasize that she's a Hollywood star - with tragic consequences.

6.0

One Thousand Ropes(2017)

The father of a deeply troubled household that endured tragedy both from without and within, seeks to reconcile with his youngest daughter by making a journey to both symbolically and culturally lay the family "ghosts" to rest.

6.2

Once Were Warriors(1994)

A drama about a Maori family living in Auckland, New Zealand. Lee Tamahori tells the story of Beth Heke’s strong will to keep her family together during times of unemployment and abuse from her violent and alcoholic husband.

7.4

Perfect Creature(2007)

The vampire myth is given a stylish 1960s treatment, where a human cop partners with a vampire cop to stop a vamp bent on creating a war between the two "separate but equal" races.

5.3

Catching the Black Widow(2017)

The courageous story of a tenacious New Zealand woman who would stop at nothing in seeking justice for her brother's murder.

5.6

Ka Mate! Ka Mate!(1987)

In a Maori settlement, Ngati Toa leader Te Rauparaha composes the famous chant "Ka Mate", also known as the haka, after evading enemy capture by hiding in a kumara pit.

0.0

Peach(1996)

Lucy Lawless stars in this short which predated her rise to fame as Xena Princess Warrior. Sal is in a relationship going nowhere with Mog, a layabout who shows her no respect. A chance encounter with an easy-going female truck driver (Lawless) encourages Sal to take more chances in her life, symbolized by the purchase of a tasty but out-of-season peach.

6.5

Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771(1993)

Lost somewhere over the Pacific in a single-engine Cessna with low fuel, a pilot (Scott Bakula) awaits rescue.

3.6

Only Cloud Knows(2019)

The film revolves around a Chinese man who returns to New Zealand following the death of his wife and begins to discover that she harbored a number of secrets.

4.8

The Dark Horse(2014)

One-time Maori speed-chess champ, Genesis Potini, lives with a bi-polar disorder and must overcome prejudice and violence in the battle to save his struggling chess club, his family and ultimately, himself.

6.3

Field Punishment No.1(2014)

In 1916, the New Zealand Government secretly shipped 14 of the country's most outspoken conscientious objectors to the Western Front in an attempt to convert, silence, or quite possibly kill them. This is their story.

8.0