Line #50 Film/Utu


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6	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0fecdceb9de1f6f221ab90e87afd6c99.jpg]]
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8	''Utu'' is a 1983 UsefulNotes/NewZealand Western, directed by Geoff Murphy.
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10	In the 1860s, after the murder of his family by colonial forces, Māori ArmyScout Te Wheke (Anzac Wallace) starts a rebellion against the British. Opposing him are:
11	** Col. Elliot (Tim Elliot)
12	** Lt. Scott (Kelly Johnson)
13	** Cpl. Wiremu (Wi Kuku Kaa), a loyalist Māori
14	** Williamson (Creator/BrunoLawrence), a British settler
15	** The loyalist Māori and the British troops
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18	!! ''Utu'' contains examples of the following tropes:
19	* ActionGirl: Emily, Williamson's wife, shoots at least three Māori which is significantly more than her husband. She comes pretty close to ambushing Te Wheke and uses the explosion to almost escape him afterward - also she steps in front of him to prevent him from shooting her husband ( who to be fair was riding to try and rescue her ).
20	* AristocratsAreEvil: Downplayed. The upper class British Colonel is a Lord; he's arrogant and condescending, but he fights bravely enough and after his carelessness almost causes a disaster he is willing to listen to those who know best.
21	* ArmiesAreEvil: Subverted. Although many of the white officers are bastards, the enlisted men are Māori who oppose the rebellion. Cpl. Wiremu is [[spoiler:the brother of rebel leader Te Wheke]].
22	* AvengingTheVillain: Wiremu shoots the Colonel as a pre-emptive act of vengeance for Te Wheke's impending execution.
23	* BadassLongCoat: Te Wheke wears a stolen army overcoat and Williamson wears a duster coat.
24	* BatmanGambit: Te Wheke [[spoiler:tosses the preacher a loaded gun, knowing full well that his victim would hesitate to use it. This gives Te Wheke enough time to decapitate the minister with an axe]].
25	-->'''Te Wheke:''' Would I give you a loaded gun? [kills him] [[NobleDemon Of course I would]]!
26	* BlackAndGreyMorality: [[spoiler:Te Wheke's tribe are massacred]] by British troops at the beginning of the movie. In turn, his own followers commit many atrocities against the white settlers.
27	* BlackFace: A Māori smears flour on his face to impersonate a white man.
28	* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Subverted. The exception is the elderly WitchDoctor who wears the traditional Māori grass skirt and feathers when tattooing Te Wheke.
29	* TheCaptain: Lt. Scott is given command of a small commando squad.
30	* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: The upper class Lt. Scott and the NobleSavage Cpl. Wiremu.
31	* CainAndAbel:
32	** Te Wheke [[spoiler:clubs his sister Kura to death for loving a white man, and wrongly assumes she betrayed them]].
33	** Wiremu later [[spoiler:executes his brother Te Wheke to end the circle of vengeance]].
34	* CallingTheOldManOut: Wiremu's son does this before defecting to the rebels.
35	* CavalryOfficer: Lt. Scott and Col. Elliot lead a charge on horseback.
36	* ColonelKilgore: Elliot becomes increasingly ruthless in his quest to capture Te Wheke.
37	* DavidVersusGoliath: In their first battle, the Māori rebels are armed with flintlock muskets, shotguns and clubs. They soon capture modern cartridge rifles from the defeated British.
38	* DeterminedHomesteader: Williamson was once a wealthy farmer, before [[spoiler:Te Wheke murdered his wife and burned his house]].
39	* DidNotGetTheGirl: Kura is [[spoiler:murdered by Te Wheke for helping her lover Scott escape, and for allegedly warning the British of the attack]].
40	* EarthyBarefootCharacter: Kura goes barefoot to signify her youthful innocence and closeness to nature.
41	* TheEmpire: The British colonial administration wants to plunder New Zealand's natural resources, and recruits some Māori warriors to wipe out the other tribes opposing them.
42	* EvilBrit: The Colonel is an upper class Englishman who commits atrocities in the name of UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria.
43	* GunPorn: Williamson tests his self-built gun by shooting up a building.
44	* TheGunslinger: Williamson relies on the firepower from his unique four-barreled shotgun.
45	* HeelFaceDoorSlam: A rare villainous example. Wiremu's son [[spoiler:tries to defect to the rebels, but Te Wheke rejects him]].
46	* HeroAntagonist: Scott is a reasonably decent man, and is respected by his troops.
47	* HollywoodNatives: Subverted. The Māori wear European-style clothing and use advanced modern firearms.
48	* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: The Colonel treats his pursuit of Te Wheke like a fox hunt.
49	* IndianMaiden: Kura [[EarthyBarefootCharacter walking barefoot]], enjoying being chased in the forest, having a love affair with [[spoiler:Scott]], and participating in the rebellion.
50	* IronicEcho: The minister's sermon is reused by Te Wheke :
51	-->'''Te Wheke:''' He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.
52	* ItsPersonal: Becoming a [[spoiler:vengeful widower, Williamson sets out to kill Te Wheke]].
53	* KlingonPromotion: As [[spoiler:the last surviving British officer, Scott ends up in command]].
54	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Wiremu does this to [[spoiler:the brutal Colonel, and blames it on the rebels]].
55	* MuggedForDisguise: The Māori rebels steal the uniforms of dead British soldiers, and use them to infiltrate the stockade.
56	* MyCountryRightOrWrong: As a soldier, Wiremu swore an oath to obey Queen Victoria. This is his reason to remain loyal to the British.
57	* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Wiremu and the loyalist Māori are Kupapa who allied with the British during the earlier tribal wars. Even today, there is strong royalist sentiment among many Māori, to the point that many are opposed to New Zealand becoming a republic.[[note]]This is partly because the treaty protecting their land rights (though often violated) was made with the Crown. They fear its status without that.[[/note]]
58	* NobleDemon: Te Wheke will eagerly massacre white settlers, but he respects brave warriors of every race. He spares the life of wounded Lt. Scott so they can fight again on equal terms.
59	* NonUniformUniform: Many of the rebels wear army overcoats taken as war trophies.
60	* PreacherMan: Te Wheke [[spoiler:beheads a minister]] then preaches his own "sermon" from the pulpit.
61	* RebelLeader: Te Wheke recruits other disillusioned Māori to turn his personal vendetta against the Colonel into a full-blown anti-colonialist revolution.
62	* RedShirt: The British redcoat troops are expendable, and relatively easy for the rebel Māori to kill.
63	* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Wiremu's son is [[spoiler:shunned by Te Wheke for betraying his British superiors, and is later tracked down and shot by Williamson]].
64	* TheSavageIndian: VillainProtagonist [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Te Wheke]] wants to [[FinalSolution kill every white person in New Zealand]], including [[WouldHitAGirl unarmed women]] and [[WouldHurtAChild children]].
65	* SavageSouth: New Zealand is represented as a harsh tropical jungle.
66	* ScaryBlackMan: White settlers scream and run at the sight of Te Wheke.
67	* SergeantRock: Wiremu has a duty to protect his commander, because Scott was born in New Zealand. As a Māori elder who previously fought in the Musket Wars, Wiremu is also AFatherToHisMen, many of whom are members of his tribe.
68	* TattooAsCharacterType: Te Wheke's full face tattoo identifies him as a warrior.
69	* TentacledTerror: Not literally, but Te Wheke is a fearsome warrior whose name is Māori for “octopus” or “squid”.
70	* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The Māori rebels massacre white women and children, and even other Māori who won't join their rebellion.
71	* ThisMeansWarpaint: Te Wheke's warrior tattoo is a variant of this.
72	* TheWestern: The Māori represent the Indians, and the British are the Cavalry.
73	* TitleDrop:
74	** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utu_(Māori_concept) Utu]] is a Māori concept about reciprocity, and to some extent, about revenge. Used twice in that context, when [[spoiler:Matu tries to execute Te Wheke]] at the end:
75	--->'''Matu:''' For you, this is a court of military law. For me, it is blood for blood. [[TitleDrop Utu]].
76	** And when Wiremu explains the CycleOfRevenge which led to Te Wheke's rebellion, and then to [[ItsPersonal Williamson going after him]]:
77	--->'''Wiremu :''' And you, who claim [[TitleDrop Utu]] for the [[spoiler:death of your wife]]...
78	** It is also implied to be the reason Lt. Scott would want to kill Te Wheke, to take revenge after [[spoiler:[[CainAndAbel he killed Kura]] and got him injured twice]].
79	* WickedCultured: Te Wheke identifies himself with Theatre/{{Macbeth}}.
80	* YoungestChildWins: Subverted. After the defeat of the rebels, Wiremu [[spoiler:executes his younger brother Te Wheke]].
81	* YouHaveFailedMe: Te Wheke shoots one of his underlings for failing to capture the town.
82	* YouKilledMyFather: The uncle of Te Wheke and Wiremu was [[spoiler:among the villagers killed in the Colonel's attack on the village]].
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Context Film / Utu