Muru

Inspired by actual events, MURU is the powerful story of a local Police Sergeant ‘Taffy’ Tāwharau who recently returned home to the remote Ruatoki valley to look after his sick father. Taffy’s father’s close associate, Tame Iti runs a series of boot camps in the valley called ‘Rama’ (fire light). These camps are centred around survival skills and to keep their shared Tūhoe identity alive. Despite many invitations, Taffy has never attended Camp Rama. Unknown to everyone in the valley, Rama has been under police surveillance for six months and when a troubled youth (Rusty) fires a loaded rifle, surveillance footage triggers a response, led by Captain Gallagher and an elite STG unit.

“Curtis deftly captures a man caught between his people and his job, but “Muru” is mostly an accomplishment in tension, courtesy of a propulsive pace from (director) Kahi.” ~Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“A constantly unnerving experience and one that does away with subtleties to make its point clear and concise.” ~Christopher Cross, Tilt