Directed by Hamish Bennett and Paul Middleditch. Reviewed by Paul Sorrell

11 August 1981. The Springboks were in Dunedin to play Otago at Carisbrook. I was one of over 1,000 protesters moving up the Southern Motorway to the ground, where the police had assured us we could yell our slogans from a position overlooking the hallowed turf. However, the Blue Squad cut us off near the top of the rise, forming a line with visors down and batons thrust forward, eyes focused on infinity. Our response was to wheel in front of them in a vast, silent arc and head back down the hill.

In Uproar, which is set in Dunedin during the Springbok tour, this event takes place in the heart of the city amid violence and confusion. Uproar is a genial, knowing comedy–drama of the kind that has become a hallmark of New Zealand cinema. No one is pretending this is a documentary, so what’s a little artistic licence among friends?

If the action is focused on the tour, then the unprepossessing figure of Josh Waaka (Julian Dennison) stands squarely at its heart, with a large cast orbiting around him. Uproar is in many ways a classic coming-of-age movie that, without too much seriousness, ushers us into the world of an overweight, unconfident Māori boy who seems unable to fit in anywhere.

Son of a struugling solo mother (Minnie Driver), Josh is doing it hard on the streets of Dunedin, delivering pamphlets in the suburbs with his Pākehā mum and a Samoan friend. His taciturn, sporty brother draws him into the St Gilbert’s First XV rugby team, where he feels anything but comfortable, especially given the school’s militant pro-tour ethos. As a counterweight to rugby, Brother Madigan, St Gilbert’s quirky drama teacher (Rhys Darby), spots Josh’s acting potential and encourages him to prepare some audition pieces for the national drama school. Meanwhile, anti-tour protests are hotting up, making Josh aware of his Māori heritage and straining his allegiances.

There may be too much going on in Uproar, but the comedy–drama genre is capacious enough for the various plots, themes and characters to fit together reasonably comfortably. Indeed, the point of the film is that, given a catalyst like the tour, these elements will inevitably collide, revealing the weak spots and enduring tensions, not only within Josh, but in the wider society.

Always entertaining, Uproar also aspires to be a film about courage, passion and identity, summed up in Josh’s rendition of Foreskin’s classic chant, “Whadarya?” 

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 288 December 2023: 28