Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds Dir: Ursula Grace Williams (13th Floor Film Review)
What better way to kick of NZ Music month than with Marlon Williams?
Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds tells the story of a journey of self-discovery as Williams writes and records his first te reo Māori language album Te Whare Tiwekaweka.
Although no stranger to the language, having sung in te reo his entire life, Williams had never attempted a full album in his native tongue.
Director Ursula Grace Williams (no relation) spent four years documenting this deeply personal journey and there is clearly a great deal of trust at play here with Williams and her crew granted all areas access to the creative process.
The camera gives the audience the unique privilege of being a fly on the wall in the studio as William works with friend and co-writer KOMMI (Kāi Tahu, Te Ātiawa) to deepen his understanding of origins and semantics to allow him to express himself more eloquently in his beloved Māori language.
The film crew follows Williams on tour and when he travels to his hometown of Ōhinehou (Lyttelton) to spend time with his mum and on visits to his marae in Tōrere with his dad where he reconnects with his whakapapa.
The overarching theme of the film is connection and this comes across in every interaction, be it with immediate family, wider whanau or with fellow musicians like Lorde, (featured on the second track released from the album), who makes an appearance that is so delightfully low key and intimately filmed that it feels as though we are sitting quietly in the corner watching two old friends jamming together.
The man who can go from performing in front of sellout crowds in London and an appearance in the Hollywood blockbuster A Star Is Born to quietly playing guitar and singing on the marae, seems equally at home in both of his two worlds.
Yet, after watching this film there can be no doubt in which world William’s heart is truly anchored.
“I think all songs are love songs really” he says toward the end of the film’s 91 minutes.
It is my favourite quote from a film that littered with quotable moments, because the more that I have pondered that statement, the more it resonates.
If all songs are, indeed, love songs, to people or places, then Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds and the album, Te Whare Tīwekaweka, that it so beautifully showcases, are love letters to a language and a culture.
A language and a culture that we must all keep alive as fiercely and passionately as the man at the centre of this beautifully executed film.
It is often said that it takes one generation to lose a language and three to regain it.
Films like this are necessary and important, and in the case of then Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds, you can almost feel your heart expanding as you are watching it.
Jo Barry
