Review: The Mountain - Young Kiwis’ connection to their maunga

Rachel House wrote and directed her first feature film, The Mountain.

This week we want to take the opportunity to encourage everyone to get out and support great Māori stories, specifically the new movie The Mountain.

The Mountain is director Rachel House’s (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Atiawa, Kāi Tahu) first feature film. It premiered in Ngāmotu (New Plymouth) and is currently screening in cinemas around the country.

Well known as an actor (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Boy, Whale Rider) House’s first feature-length film is quite a personal story for her as well. While the titular mountain wasn’t named in the original story, Rachel, who affiliates with Taranaki, brings to the story the relationship between Māori and our maunga (mountains) and awa (rivers) and their significance in te ao Māori, as ancestors and guardians grounding us to Papatūānuku (Earth Mother).

The stars of the film are the three young actors Elizabeth Atkinson, Terrence Daniel and Reuben Francis. But the fourth star is Taranaki maunga itself, the silent hero hardly ever seen in full glory but a constant goal our three children are determined to reach. And as the characters remark in the film, the maunga is a tīpuna, an ancestor and a protector.

On a mission: Bronco, Mallory and Sam. Still from the feature film The Mountain.

Sam (Atkinson), the young heroine, believes that connecting with ‘her maunga, Taranaki’ will cure the cancer she is battling. Starting out on her journey by herself, she meets up with Mallory (Francis), who has his own personal reasons to go up the mountain, and Bronco (Daniel), the new kid in the community who takes on the role of ensuring that Taranaki maunga and Papatūānuku are respected.

While on paper it may appear to be a simple coming-of-age story for our three protagonists, the film is about children’s affinity and understanding of te taiao (the natural world), a connection which appears greater than our generation.

It’s a funny, moving and thought-provoking New Zealand film that showcases up-and-coming actors. The three characters, unlikely companions at the beginning of the film, take viewers on a journey bigger than their ages.

Filmed in the beautiful region of Taranaki where their towering maunga takes centre stage, the story reminds us of the need to care for our land and our planet as we are reminded by these three rangatahi (youth).

Iwi all over Aotearoa share a special connection with their maunga, which goes far beyond simple landmarks. For us of Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua, ko Ruahine te Maunga, ko Manawatū te Awa (Ruahine is the mountain, Manawatū is the river), it is our responsibility as well as all those who live within this takiwā (region) to ensure we care for our environment, our taiao for future generations.