White Lies

2013

1 hr. 36 min.

Drama

List

100%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

A medicine woman is asked to hide a secret that will protect one life and endanger another.

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Audience Member

When she was young, white soldiers killed Paraiti's grandfather and their entire village. She was struck by a burning torch and left for dead. Now an elder medicine woman and midwife in a Maori village in New Zealand, the white man's laws are preventing her from healing the people who come for care. A visit to town and a request to come to the house of a rich white woman starts a chain of events that speak volumes about race, class and gender. White Lies, based on a novel by Whale Rider writer Witi Ihimaera, does all this in a beautifully filmed quiet but intense drama between three women. The acting is superb. Highly recommended, for men too.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

J. D

"White Lies" is a New Zealand film about the damages, both overt and covert, wrought by oppression, but it is also about the deep spirituality and strength of roots and identity. Whirimako Black's performance as Paraiti, a Maori healer is quietly powerful.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/04/21

Full Review

Audience Member

absolutely loved it, serious, sad

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/17/21

Full Review

Audience Member

Se trata de una cinta fabulosa con una fotografía exquisita, actuaciones dignas y con una trama que ahonda en cuestiones tales como la identidad, las fronteras y el racismo recalcitrante de inicios del siglo XX (no mencionaré la maternidad puesto que a mi vista no es un tema central: Rebeca no desarrolla ese sentimiento por el producto de su vientre). Sin dudarlo, es un film donde Dana Rotberg, directora mexicana, demuestra un gran respeto por el cine, y eso lo agradezco enormemente, mucho más, estando sumergida en un entorno de producciones lamentables y desinteresadas por este arte. En una palabra: ¡sensacional!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Starts off with an interesting premise then just goes downhill with annoying scenes

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This film is based on a novel by Witi Ihimaera, who also wrote "The Whale Rider." A Maori medicine woman-midwife-herbalist is asked by a Maori servant lady to help her white mistress who is pregnant and "needs" end the pregnancy before her husband arrives back from his trip abroad. This is the framework for this film centered around 3 strong women characters. It is a challenging film. Some of the issues it addresses colonialism, identity loss, and motherhood. The film revolves primarily around three willful women played beautifully by Maori singer Whirimako Black as the Maori medicine woman, Rachel House as the Maori servant woman, and Antonia Prebble as the white mistress.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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Dana Rotberg

Director

Rachel House

Maraea

Antonia Prebble

Rebecca

Nancy Brunning

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Te Waimarie Kessell

Aroha

Elizabeth Hawthorne

Hospital Matron

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Tomris Laffly

Film Journal International

Thematically, White Lies is essential cinema, unafraid to delve into female issues even contemporary societies grapple with.

Mar 7, 2016

Full Review

Andy Webster

New York Times

Ms. Black, a New Zealand recording artist making her film debut, and Ms. House, both actresses of formidable presence, are well-matched opponents. Ms. Prebble, too, has reserves of power.

Mar 3, 2016

Full Review

Ernesto Diezmartinez

Cine Vértigo

A solid feminine melodrama about the colonial/racist past of the director's adoptive country. [Full review in Spanish]

May 3, 2016

Full Review

Donald J. Levit

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Showcases a triangle of strong female performances, impressive cinematography and music.

Mar 18, 2016

Full Review

Kam Williams

Baret News

A deeply moving reminder of man's inhumanity to man in less enlightened times.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 15, 2016

Full Review

Simon Foster

Screen-Space

[Whirimako] Black is a towering screen presence who honours not only Rotberg's and Ihimaera's creation but also the centuries-old dignity and customs of her people.

Nov 29, 2013

Full Review

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Synopsis

A medicine woman is asked to hide a secret that will protect one life and endanger another.

Director: Dana Rotberg
Executive Producer: Rosa Bosch
Screenwriter: Dana Rotberg
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 10, 2018

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