River Queen

2005
|
114 mins
Trailer
Poster for River Queen

Sarah (Samantha Morton) is a British settler during the time of the New Zealand land wars, where she... More

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River Queen | Ratings & Reviews

"Would that director Vincent Ward's embattled "River Queen" might have emerged unscathed from its troubled, headline-making production. This longtime dream project for the acclaimed Kiwi helmer -- and his first pic since "What Dreams May Come" in 1998 -- finally reaches the screen as a waterlogged would-be epic, lacking the emotion, narrative invention and visual brilliance that mark Ward's best films (including "The Navigator" and "Map of the Human Heart"). Having driven most of its Toronto industry screening audience into a deep slumber or early exit, "River" looks to be cast out to sea by most theatrical buyers."

VarietyVariety

"Contrived and unreal."

The GuardianThe Guardian

"The film lacks chemistry and conviction and, except as unconscious and grotesque comedy, never really works."

New Zealand HeraldNew Zealand Herald

"Vincent Ward’s troubled River Queen finally appears this week, but it already feels consigned to the distant past. As in a hallucinated history of New Zealand film, the nutty romanticism of The Piano blends into the land-wars western Utu, but viewed through a dense, nearly impenetrable thicket of post-production tinkering – rambling voice-over, bombastic choral score, sudden lurches into slo-mo and over-editing – that suggests nothing so much as pre-release panic and an emptied bag of tricks."

New Zealand ListenerNew Zealand Listener

"Filled with some striking imagery but which ultimately keeps viewer involvement at an unfathomable distance."

Hollywood ReporterHollywood Reporter

"A piercing, contemporary analysis... Deeply thought and charged, it teaches and warns, as well as entertains..."

Dominion PostDominion Post

"No doubt director Vincent Ward had higher hopes for his period drama, a 19th century saga about a young Irish woman (Samantha Morton) caught in the crossfire between warring British colonials and indigenous Maori tribesmen. Fine cinematography and the occasional battle scene apart, alas, the result is a sluggish bore that's as hard to fathom as Kiefer Sutherland's bizarre Oirish accent."

BBCBBC

River Queen | Details

Award winner
Best Cinematography and Costume Design at the NZ Film Awards 2006.
Runtime
114
Genre
Drama
Country of origin
New Zealand, UK

River Queen | Trailers