Broken English

Sep 9, 1996

1h 32m

★ 5.4

Sometimes when you make love you make war.

Overview

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.

Genres

Romance

Drama

Production Companies

New Zealand Film Commission

NZ on Air

Communicado Productions

Broken English Trailers

Cast

Ivan

Rade Šerbedžija

Nina

Aleksandra Vujcic

Eddie

Julian Arahanga

Darko

Marton Csokas

Ivan's mate

Stephen Ure

After his father is murdered by the Nazis in 1938, a young Viennese Jew named Ferry Tobler flees to Prague, where he joins forces with another expatriate and a sympathetic Czech relief worker. Together with other Jewish refugees, the three make their way to Paris, and, after spending time in a French prison camp, eventually escape to Marseille, from where they hope to sail to a safe port.

6.1

Sounds of Sand

May 2, 2007

On the one hand, there’s the desert eating away at the land. The endless dry season, the lack of water. On the other there’s the threat of war. The village well has run dry. The livestock is dying. Trusting their instinct, most of the villagers leave and head south. Rahne, the only literate one, decides to head east with his three children and Mouna, his wife. A few sheep, some goats, and Chamelle, a dromedary, are their only riches. A tale of exodus, quest, hope and fatality.

7.3

My Name Is Loh Kiwan

Feb 19, 2024

After defecting from North Korea, Loh Kiwan struggles to obtain refugee status in Belgium, where he encounters a dejected woman who has lost all hope.

5.6

Patria

Oct 12, 2015

A movie about sinners and their quest for salvation. But God is hard to find.

0.0

Crossing The Line

Nov 19, 2022

Jakop, a lone fisherman on the coast of lake Peipus has to decide whether refugees brought to his door are his way of redeeming past sins or merely a means to quickly earn much needed cash.

6.3

Journey for Margaret

Dec 17, 1942

An American newspaperman and his wife, end up in London after several retreats in the opening days of WWII. After a shrapnel wound and loss of her baby she returns to America. War weary, he is forced to do a story about war orphans, where he meets Margaret.

6.8

Fortuna

Sep 19, 2018

Fortuna, a 14-year-old Ethiopian girl, has had no news of her parents since they crossed the Mediterranean Sea. Together with other refugees, she is given shelter for the winter in a Swiss catholic monastery. While she waits for her fate to be decided by the Swiss authorities, Fortuna finds out she is pregnant. The choice she will have to make and the arrival of the refugees will give rise to concern within the religious community and will challenge their concept of Christian charity.

4.0

The Lawyer

Mar 27, 2020

Marius is a highly successful lawyer based in Vilnius. He becomes obsessed with Ali, a handsome Syrian refugee he first encounters in an online chatroom run out of Belgrade. Marius is rich and enjoys a vibrant social and cultural life. Nevertheless, he feels that something is missing from it. The journey from Lithuania to Serbia is a relatively short one, but can the two navigate their way through the gulf that separates their very different lives? And how do they deal with the precarious obstacles of the physical borders that stand between them? Written and directed by Romas Zabarauskas, The Lawyer questions assumptions about what it means to be an immigrant and the possibilities offered by life in contemporary Europe.

6.1

Delbaran

Feb 1, 2001

Acclaimed director Abolfazl Jalili offers a compassionate story of the young Afghan refugee who lives illegally in Iran. 14-year-old Kaim drifts to the Delbaran crossing on the Afghan-Iran border, where he finds work at a coffee shop frequented by truck drivers. He feels at home in this small oasis of friendliness, though the sounds of war can be heard in the background, violent bandits prowl the roads, and opium is everywhere. As we watch Kaim run from one task to another day after day, we soon realize that we are watching a boy who is being cheated out of his childhood.

4.5

Bollywood Queen

Dec 11, 2002

A cross cultural romance set in London's East End about a young girl of Indian heritage.

6.5

Cinderella

Nov 2, 1997

Cinderella chafes under the cruelty of her wicked stepmother and her evil stepsisters, until her Fairy Godmother steps in to change her life for one unforgettable night. At the ball, she falls for handsome Prince Christopher, whose parents, King Maximillian and Queen Constantina, are anxious for him to find a suitable paramour.

6.0

Spinning Gasing

Nov 6, 2000

Members of a Malaysian band must overcome their racial, religious and cultural differences to overcome the difficulties of love, relationships and day to day issues in modern day Malaysia.

5.4

Twilight of the Gods

Jun 24, 1996

A Maori warrior comes upon the aftermath of a battle to find that the only survivor is a wounded enemy soldier. His wishes to avenge his fallen countrymen by finishing off this helpless enemy but the gods won't allow it (as conveyed to him through a spirit bird). Anguished that he must instead treat the soldier's wounds, he's further repelled by the soldier's incessant homosexual advances. Slowly and surprisingly, a change comes over the warrior to accept the soldier's advances, but the war all too soon intrudes upon them.

5.9

China Girl

Sep 25, 1987

Teenage lovers Tony and Tyan-Hwa tip the balance of power in New York's Little Italy and Chinatown.

0.0

Gypsy Love

Jan 1, 1974

Zorika's father has arranged for her to marry a wealthy acquaintance. Before the engagement, she goes for a walk along a mountain stream, and there meets a handsome gypsy; but will her affection go unrequited? GYPSY LOVE is an operetta by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár (1870–1948). This 1974 production is a cinematic version with a star cast.

3.2

Malevolence

Jun 18, 2004

Antonio owes the Robaldo family a hundred G's, Gray wants revenge on the street gang who mugged him, Jimmy's escaped from prison, and his brother/accomplice David has many serious mental conditions. Detective Brickley is hot on their trail willing to stop them with any means necessary, while a pair of rogue psychiatrists track them to discover the roots of David's condition. It isn't long before the paths of these characters cross with violent and tragic consequences. The result is a shocking and disturbing portrait of human nature at its worst that can only be summed up in one word: Malevolence.

4.0

One Night Stand

Oct 16, 1976

An aimless American translator gets involved with a series of Hong Kong women.

0.0

TINA

Apr 6, 2024

A 23-year-old revisits the family car he grew up with to experience the thrill of childhood again...

0.0

The Refugee

May 3, 1955

A Chinese medical student named Gan Shosho finds himself cut off from his homeland as he is studying in Japan during the outbreak of the war. Despite his difficult circumstances, he finds love in the form of Sachiko and the two marry. They later travel to Nanjing to live a new life together where Sachiko and Shaochang cooperate with the Japanese-backed government. Their ultimate hope is to secure peace but their idealism is not enough to keep them together through brutal times and with the end of the war the two find themselves facing a divorce... --Osaka Asian Film Festival

Broken English

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Broken English Trailers