If there is a discernible gap in my historical knowledge, it is regarding much of anything having to do with the Pacific Islands.  I can tell you some basics, like when the British began colonizing Australia and New Zealand, how whalers roamed these waters for nearly two centuries, and a few other pieces.  It is scattershot at best, and tragically light on the past of the indigenous populations that called the area home for millennia.  I do know that the English sent many of their more problematic people to this part of the world, which is one of the reasons Catholicism has such a foothold in places like Australia.  As for New Zealand, I am more limited, and this is one of the reasons why I chose The Convert.  It is set in the nineteenth century on the future island nation at a moment of transition for its native peoples, called the Māori.  The result is somewhat flattened as history goes, but an interesting story all the same.

Speaking of history, The Convert gives you some with an opening text that says that it is 1830 and the Māori have been introduced to two key things: Christianity and guns.  Sailing to this land in transition is the Anglican lay minister, Thomas Munro (Guy Pearce).  His passage has been paid for by the residents of Epworth, a fledgling English colony in need of a preacher.  The skipper of the ship on which he is traveling is Captain Kedgley (Dan O’Gorman), who is grateful for Thomas giving last rites to a crewman who just died in a storm.  With this good will built up, Captain Kedgley is willing to indulge Thomas’ desire to camp on land when they stop for lumber to repair the ship.  The seaman is even impressed by the clergyman’s ability to bring his horse ashore, and how Thomas handles encountering the locals for the first time.  Before Captain Kedgley can leave, Thomas stumbles upon a skirmish between Māori groups, in the middle of which is Rangimai (Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne), a woman he had previously seen.  Her and her husband are the sole survivors and their adversary, Akatarewa (Lawrence Makoare), is about to execute the couple.  This is when Thomas intervenes.  Luckily, Captain Kedgley knows the language, though Akatarewa had previously been to England and speaks English.  Though Akatarewa executes Rangimai’s husband, Thomas is able to barter for her life by trading his prized steed.  With that, they head to Epworth where Thomas’ home is prepared and he settles into his ministry.  There is tension, though, with the person he has brought with him.  When he notices she has a lingering wound from her battle, he asks what passes for a local physician and is given the run around about how busy supposedly is the doctor.  Instead, he is told by the daughter of one of the village muckety-mucks to visit Charlotte (Jacqueline McKenzie), a woman who lives on the outskirts of the settlement.  She has experience with the Māori, and later we find out that she had once been marooned with them, learning their customs and speech.  She comes the next day to heal Rangimai.  Not long thereafter, they are visited by Maianui (Antonio Te Maioha), the nearby chieftain to whom the English pay rent for their land.  Maianui is also Rangimai’s father, and he asks that she, along with her brother, stay with Thomas to receive tutoring.  The presence of two Māori increases the suspicions of the English, especially when the boy catches the eye of the aforementioned daughter.  The eyeing is noticed by her father, who arranges to have the young native man murdered, in the church no less.  It may not be a Catholic place of worship, but it is heinous all the same.  By the way, there is a Catholic in town, the general store proprietor, who is the patsy brought forward after Thomas voices his vehement disapproval.   The final insult comes when he is told that the so-called murderer had hung himself in prison, which Thomas knows is unlikely since Catholicism has strong proscriptions against killing oneself.  At any rate, Thomas has decided to travel with Charlotte and Rangimai to return Maianui’s son to his people and hopefully smooth over any rising tension.  Thomas spends an extended amount of time there, sketching his hosts and teaching them better musketry.  This, and some of the drawings in his book, lead Maianui to ask Thomas about some of its contents.  Namely, they want to know about the images of war, which belie his current work.  It is at this point that we are told about his past as a soldier, being particularly haunted by an incident when he had killed women and children in a confusing, smoke-filled battle.  Rather than being horrified, Maianui is understanding.  The chief is less so when Captain Kedgley comes to the village looking to sell muskets.  Thomas objects, saying that this will just exacerbate problems with Akatarewa, Maianui’s enemy.  Further, Captain Kedgley is trying to charge more than usual, something Ringimai points out.  Instead, Thomas offers to go to Akatarewa with the aim of converting the warlord and bringing about lasting peace.  Instead, with Captain Kedgley along, Akatarewa kills the sailors, takes all the guns, and commandeers the ship to fight against Maianui.  Ringimai had stowed away to get revenge against those who had killed her husband, and she and Thomas barely escape to return to Maianui and warn him of an impending attack.  During it, Thomas and Charlotte try to hang back, defending the children, but Charlotte is shot through the heart and dies.  An enraged Thomas, who had fallen for Charlotte, launches into the fray and is only calmed by Ringimai.  A surprised Akatarewa is chased back to the beach, and is there executed by Maianui.  In order to stop the cycle of violence, Maianui marries Ringimai to his former enemy’s son.  Four years later, with Thomas accompanying them, Ringimai’s family comes to Epworth to reject a trade proposal that would bring more English control to the land.

By the end of the film, it is Thomas that is The Convert.  He is even sporting the traditional Māori face tattoos, which are meant to tell his story to this point in his life.  It reminded me of some of the things I wear that signal my Catholicism.  The most obvious one is the large collection of Faith-based shirts I sport, many of which I purchased from Sock Religious.  I have no arrangement with them, but I highly recommend their products.  I have a few others, but they have been my main purveyor.  Another couple symbols of my Faith are my Brown Scapular and Cross, separate items that I wear around my neck.  The Māori have their own necklaces that are meant to serve a cultural function.  A non-believer might see these things as being roughly the same, though there is no spirit imbued in my religious adornments.  Instead of being a representation of a specific god, mine are designed to lead the wearer to the one true God.  Having said all this, one might wonder whether Thomas’ conversion also comes with him giving up Christianity.  That is not made clear in the closing minutes.  What is clearer is how he behaves for most of the film.  Though he displays some doubts about his beliefs, he acts in a manner becoming of anyone tasked with professing God.  I was not pleased with how the one avowed Catholic in the film acted, but Thomas makes up for those off-color remarks.  The way he treats Ringimai is exemplary, but the best is how he seeks to avoid bloodshed.  Even though he ends up being in the thick of the climactic battle, it is not before he does everything he can to not only avert war, but bring people together.  Better still is the fact that, ultimately, it is the Māori that realize they should not be killing one another rather than being inspired by any of Thomas’ actions.  God does not desire His people to engage in such conflict, and I like to think His spirit is there whenever anyone lays down their arms.

From the little research I did about The Convert, the film does have some historians up in arms, but they, too, are happy with the overall product.  It is a heavily historically based film, but that is fine for a guy like me.  There are some bloody scenes and brief nudity, but otherwise this is a solid piece of cinema.