Best movies like The Legend of Baron To'a

A young man gets mixed up with a stolen necklace and a gang of ruthless jewel thieves.

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.

John H. Groberg, a middle class kid from Idaho Falls, crosses the Pacific to become a Mormon missionary in the remote and exotic Tongan island kingdom during the 1950's. He leaves behind a loving family and the true love of his life, Jean. Through letters and musings across the miles, John shares his humbling and sometimes hilarious adventures with "the girl back home", and her letters buoy up his spirits in difficult times. John must struggle to overcome language barriers, physical hardship and deep-rooted suspicion to earn the trust and love of the Tongan people he has come to serve. Throughout his adventure-filled three years on the islands, he discovers friends and wisdom in the most unlikely places. John H. Groberg's Tongan odyssey will change his life forever.

A nightmare chase across the scenic splendor of a wild continent. David Manning, a young accountant, is unable to live within his income. He spends his spare time in Auckland with the young set - and his friends Sandra, Dorothy and Athol all like the outdoor life in the daytime and the bright lights at night. David finds himself in financial difficulties and leaves his job.

A psychological drama of a family in crisis. Kawa, a successful Māori businessman in Auckland, New Zealand, is forced to reveal his lifelong secret - that he is gay.

Ivan is the fierce patriarch of a family of Croatian refugees living in Auckland during the Yugoslav wars. Nina is his daughter, ready to live on her own, despite his angry objections. Eddie is the Maori she takes as her lover. Nina works at the restaurant where Eddie cooks. For a price, she agrees to marry another restaurant employee, a Chinese man, so that he can establish permanent residency. The money gives her the independence she needs to leave her parents' house and move in with Eddie. Complications arise when Eddie realizes the depth of her father's fury and the strength of Nina's family ties.

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.

An American drifter comes to a remote Polynesian island controlled by a Puritanical missionary and turns the social life of the island upside-down.

Hongi, a Maori chieftain’s teenage son, must avenge his father’s murder in order to bring peace and honour to the souls of his loved ones after his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery. Vastly outnumbered by a band of villains led by Wirepa, Hongi’s only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden “Dead Lands” and forge an uneasy alliance with a mysterious warrior, a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years.

After her great aunt's death, a high-society woman arrives on a Hawaiian island in search of the heir - the father she has never met.

Eddie, a small-time hoodlum is forced to care for Marie he accidentally hits with his car during a crime. He is broke and hits up his very displeased mob boss for cash. To make matters worse, Eddie and Marie begin to fall for each other.

Cavalier contract killer Lee-Seng (Rob Young) flees his vengeful employer and a ruthless assassin (James Trevena-Brown) after failing to eliminate a team of vigilantes intent on ridding their city of drug dealers. Meanwhile, as the bullets start to fly, Lee-Seng searches for the truth about his mission while protecting a gorgeous woman (Renee Cataldo) who has gotten caught in the crossfire.

Mayor Broody hires an expert shark-hunter to track down and eliminate a deadly ghost shark when it returns to terrorize Auckland.

Robert J. Flaherty's South Seas follow-up to Nanook of the North is a Gauguin idyll moved by "pride of beauty... pride of strength."

Meet best friends Michael, Albert, Stanley and Sefa; the ladies' man, the good boy, the weird one and the party boy. They're staring down the barrel of their thirtieth birthdays, but still act as if they're sixteen; they get drunk, they chase the wrong women and they have a remarkable record of misbehaving and causing chaos at every wedding they attend. But now Michael's younger brother Sione is getting married, and everything is about to change. Sione is their boy, the kid they used to look after, who grew up while they were still partying. And to ensure his big day isn't spoiled by his boys and their idiot antics, Sione has issued an ultimatum; the guys all have to bring dates to the wedding. And not just any dates; real girlfriends, someone they've made a commitment to. They have one month. So just how hard can it be to get a date for your best boy's wedding?

New Zealand independent drama following a young Māori man who moves to the country to rebuild his life after facing prejudices around his sexual orientation. He takes on a job on a farm where he grows attached to the farmer’s son. But when their relationship grows, the situation steers into darker territories…

A treasury agent on the trail of counterfeit money confides to fellow ocean liner passenger, Charlie Chan, that there have been two attempts on his life.

Aorere College in Auckland, New Zealand struggles to cope with truancy, poor academic achievement and the pervasive influence of gangs. With the morale of both students and teachers at an all time low, Mr Peach single-handedly persists in his belief in the kids and their right to an education. Witness his fight to keep them in school and instil a sense of their self-worth, through dogged compassion, tough discipline, and mutual respect.

Following a series of bomb attacks in London, a group of terrorists seize Britain's ambassador to Scandinavia. With the ambassador now a hostage in his residence, another group hijacks an airliner at the capital's airport, announcing that the passengers will not be freed until their demands are met. Colonel Nils Tahlvik, Scandinavia's resourceful and ruthless head of security, seeks to take an uncompromising stance against the terrorists yet his attempts meet resistance from unknown forces at every turn...

A detective discovers his son-in-law is cheating on his wife. He confronts the other woman and accidentally kills her, then tries to pin the crime on a local derelict.

Detective Breslin crosses paths with Calloway, a ruthless hacker desperate to find his wife, who has been kidnapped by a drug cartel. When Calloway escapes police custody, Breslin joins forces with a no-nonsense female cop to reclaim his prisoner. But is Calloway’s crime-boss father somehow involved in this explosive situation?

Everyone is chasing a little wooden dog. Old and young, they all think it contains an elixir of life. Miranda, a manic cosmetics tycoon, thinks it's worth millions. A mob of old folk led by a pair of deranged doctors is convinced it contains the secret of eternal youth.

The Tongan Ninja is dispatched to the island nation of New Zealand in order to help a brother of his master with his floundering Chinese restaurant. But the mysterious Mister Big stands in the eatery's way as he sends numerous villains such as Knife Man, Gun Man, and the super-sexy Action Fighter who may know a lot about the hero.

The closing years of the nineteenth century Old West. Dry River tells the story of a Mexican border town ravaged by severe drought, with the only water source controlled by a family of American renegades on the trail for a legend of lost gold. When a Mexican stranger arrives to reclaim his father’s land, a violent confrontation will cause the lives of all to be forever transformed.

A high school coach, whose teenage daughter was murdered, takes matters into his own hands by going after the men who kidnap his students for their sex trafficking operation.

Coming of age tale told through the eyes of 'Tu', an ambitious young man from Auckland who dreams of being a professional hip-hop dancer.

A young Polynesian woman trapped in the throes of an abusive relationship gets revenge by burning down her boyfriend's home. Fearing retaliation, she flees into the mountains of Kauai, Hawaii, where she discovers a mythical creature that guides her back to her ancestral roots.

Set during the old west, Bearheart the dog witnesses his master, an old mountain man being murdered by bandits. Forced into the wilderness to survive on his own he meets a family who gives him friendship and a loving home.

Minka is a teenage Polynesian boy living in the heart of the city. With his P-addicted mother well on the way to going completely off the rails, three people enter his life - each with a promise - each with the power to destroy.

This is a story about a single fathers revenge on a ruthless street gang who killed his only child in the cross fire of a store robbery.

Wildcat riggers risk their lives in the pursuit of oil. Their jobs get even more dangerous when ruthless oil baron J.C. Anderson sets his sights on their territory. When longtime driller Dan O'Reilly falls to his death from a well tower sabotaged by Anderson's strong-arm thugs, his teenage son 'Fishtail' inherits the property and the troubles that come with it. With the help of his geologist pal, Hank Langford, the boy fights to bring in a gusher before the deed to the well-site expires.

Thomas Dekker is a diamond cutter attempting to reclaim his right to a portion of a rubber empire in the early part of the twentieth century. Tom travels to Brazil to uncover the fate of his father and along the way meets Teresa, a local girl who offers to be his guide in the jungle. Eventually, they encounter three armed men who take them to Lobato, a bandit who knew his father. Once convinced that Tom is his friend's son, Lobato tells him a lengthy story which culminates with his meeting Tom's father, who rescued him from drowning. With the help of "flashbacks" from an obscure South American feature, Tom learns what really became of his father.

Set in 1965, a true story of one man’s struggle to bring rock music to a nation, an iconic New Zealand story with a universal ‘David and Goliath’ theme. The youth will find it incredible this actually happened and existed as part of New Zealand society in the 1960′s. It’s a titanic struggle for freedom and ‘the choice to choose’.

Biopic about the life of Whina Cooper, an activist who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of fellow Māori women.

The story of the 1973 hockey season when aging legend Gordie Howe returned to the ice at the age of 44.

Same But Different: A True New Zealand Love Story follows Rachel, a single working Grey Lynn mum, who breaks a three-year spell of singledom to pursue her escalating feelings for Nikki, whom she meets at a Māori film festival.

Peace is declared in Northern Ireland after thirty years of troubles. The criminal empires that have existed during the troubles can no longer operate and are being shut down. George is released from prison and returns to his old working-class neighbourhood to resume his life and steer clear of trouble which includes his best friend Emmet. Nadine has also come back to Derry after many years away, she is the estranged daughter of the resident crime boss Simon McKnight and also George first love. When Emmet finds a bag of money belonging to a ruthless loyalist hit-man Giggles, George is compelled to help him one last time to return it. This step is too far and they are forced to enlist the help of a gang from the other side of the community.

Timothy and his family is expecting a French-Canadian male exchange student, that turns out to be an attractive girl, to which Timothy proceeds to make a fool of himself, trying to impress. When Michelle becomes ill from drinking spiked punch at a party, Timothy notices a tattoo while helping her to bed. He foolishly tells a friend about the tattoo, who proceeds to tell the whole school, which does not go down well with Michelle.

This documentary, made seven years after the death of legendary filmmaker and kinetic artist Len Lye, tells Lye's story: from being a young boy staring at the sun, to travels around the Pacific and life in New York. It includes excerpts from many of his films, and interviews with second wife Ann and biographer Roger Horrocks. Len Lye himself is often heard, outlining his ideas of the ‘old brain’ and how Māori and Aboriginal art influenced his work. The grandeur of his ideas are only matched by their scale, with steel sculptures designed to be "at least 20 foot high".

UPROAR is a story about connection and finding your place in the world. It is the story of 17-year-old Josh Waaka (played by Julian Dennison). Set in Dunedin in 1981, a rugby-obsessed country is divided over the arrival of the South African Springboks team, sparking nationwide protests. Under pressure from home and school to conform, Josh, who has never felt like he fits in anywhere, is inspired by the protests to find his own voice. A sequence of events sees Josh embrace his community and follow his heart to his whakapapa (Māori heritage), which brings him and his whānau on a journey towards healing.

After skipping town a decade ago, transgender activist Caz Davis returns to the remote, politically divided dairy community of Rurangi, hoping to reconnect with his estranged father, who hasn't heard from him since before Caz transitioned.

Eight Māori female directors have each contributed a sequence to this powerful and challenging feature which unfolds around the tangi of a small boy who died at the hands of his caregiver.

A young South Seas native boy is sent to the U.S. for his education and returns to his island after his father dies to try to stop a revolution.

In the turbulence of Auckland, Ska (Hunter) is a streetwise 19 year old, whose father is a drunkard and whose older sister works at a high-class massage parlour. When he decide to “rescue” her, he is thrown out. With some friends, he take revenge by trashing the place, but the reply results in Ska's best friend being killed. The massage parlour boss is also a crooked concert promoter, so Ska, and his gang, “hijack” a concert which incites the audience to riot.

Turei, a talented young musician, dreams of his band winning the audition to be the support act for Bob Marley’s 1979 concert in Auckland. Part of a Māori family of contract potato pickers in Pukekohe, Turei’s desperate ambition clashes with his whanau’s traditional values, leading to an emotional showdown and powerful change.

In 1942 Wellington, Daisy Edwards, 16 and pregnant, relies totally on her just-wed husband, Ed, who is little older than she. Ed is suddenly drafted into the army and is to be sent overseas to battle while Daisy is sent to her father in Auckland. When Ed's leave is cancelled at the last minute he takes the dangerous decision to go absent without leave to be with Daisy on her journey home. As a deserter, Ed is hunted, captured and imprisoned. Life inside is bad enought without the worry of what is going on outside. The film is based upon a true story.

Three Maori youths, bored with Auckland, head south in a restored Mark II Zephyr in search of something different. One of them is on the run from drug dealers, whom he had crossed. Various mini-adventures occurs as they make their way down the North Island, but it all comes to a head while visiting a cousin. Finally, they, the drug dealers and the police all come together, with the expected fights and arrests.

Maka, a Tongan superfan, will do whatever it takes to get tickets to the Tonga v France Rugby World Cup game - even if that means promising to deliver a brass band for the pre-match entertainment. Only problem is, the band doesn't exist and Maka has four weeks to make one. Inspired by a true story.

A young speech therapist disconnected from her Tongan heritage lies about her Tongan language skills to get a job. Out of her depth, she must find a way to communicate or risk her patient’s life.

A successful city lawyer abandons his practice and heads out to the country. There he comes upon a stately, but neglected, homestead. He moves in, and during his first night a beautiful ghostly woman makes love to him, in his sleep. Soon his dreams become more engrossing than his everyday world and girlfriend. Gradually he unravels the tragedy of his spirit lovers' past. To respond to her call, he needs to embrace the hearafter.