TL;DR – An emotional punch to the face as it explores the power of finding your identity.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Uproar Review –

At the time of writing, we are in the middle of the Brisbane International Film Festival or, more affectionately, BIFF. So many films were on offer that you needed to sort through all the entries before being paralysed by indecision. For me this year, I decided to prioritise Aussie and Kiwi films, and with that in mind, you will see a couple of these entries over the coming days. Our first entry from BIFF explores the need to find your identity and how that shapes us as people.

So to set the scene, it is 1981, and the South African Rugby Team, the Springbok, are currently touring New Zealand. Given an intentionally racist Apartheid political system that still runs South Africa, this tour is quite controversial, and there are protests everywhere the team plays. It is within this world that Josh Waaka (Julian Dennison) is trying to find his voice. He is surviving High School by hiding in the library each lunchtime, but he is not thriving at any level. Much of his out-of-school time is spent on odd jobs helping his mother Shirley (Minnie Driver) and the family survive and assisting his brother Jamie (James Rolleston) in his physical therapy recovery from an accident. But as these protests cause a reckoning in the country, they also force Josh to reflect on his own identity.  

The first thing I need to talk about is Julian Dennison’s performance. Julian Dennison has excelled as a comedic actor, nailing the brief in Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Deadpool 2. In both of these roles, a dramatic underpinning shone through. Here, he gets to dive completely into the drama genre, and we get a masterclass in someone trying to find his voice in an ocean of self-doubt and grief. There were several moments during the film where his performance brought me to tears. Also, I need to mention that all of the supporting cast is also a delight, with Rhys Darby getting some solid moments.


One of Uproar’s strengths is its ability to take these big political moments and movements and distil them down the personal sphere. The relationship between the personal and the political was at the core of the story the film wanted to tell, a narrative that is just as relevant today as it was in the 1980s. People using the call for unity to beat down on other voices. The role of sports-washing to try and gloss over human rights issues. Someone’s identity having to take second place to their identity. There is this moment when Principal Slane (Mark Mitchinson) uses the School’s Māori motto to silence Māori voices that get in the way of how he views the world. It is one of the best examples I have seen of the thin layer of inclusion that has no substance behind it but is positioned in such a way that it is incontestable.

The production does a masterful job of bringing the film into the 1980s, where the shorts are short, and the hair is wavy and crimped. When I say that they do a good job, I don’t just mean getting the right video camera or car [these are still important], but the carpet, they get the carpet perfectly right. I liked that they filmed much of this movie on location in Dunedin where it is set, and the undulating hills and paths bring their charm to the film. Also that it got into the weeds of modern Kiwi theatre culture.

In the end, do we recommend Uproar? Absolutely. It is a stunning film that moved me from the opening frame to the closing moment. It is as subtle as a sledgehammer to the head when it needs to be and restrained and caring when it is called for. If nothing else, I don’t think anything truly prepares you for the Haka forming through collective identity. If you liked Uproar, we would recommend to you Red, White & Brass.   

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Uproar?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Uproar
Directed by – Paul Middleditch & Hamish Bennett
Screenplay by – Keith Aberdein
Story by – Hamish Bennett, Sonia Whiteman & Paul Middleditch
Written by – Hamish Bennett & Sonia Whiteman with Mario Gaoa & Rachel House
Based on – Concept by Paul Middleditch & Mark Turnbull
Music by – Karl Sölve Steven
Cinematography by – Maria Ines Manchego
Edited by – Carly Turner
Production/Distribution Companies – Firefly Films, Caravan Carpark Films, Kingston Film Productions Ltd., Blue Fox Entertainment & Kismet Movies
Starring – Julian Dennison, Rhys Darby, Minnie Driver, James Rolleston, Jada Fa’atui, Erana James & Mabelle Dennison with Mark Mitchinson, Craig Hall, Hannah Marshall, Milo Cawthorne, John Leigh, Byron Coll, Ascia Maybury, Leonard Mathews, Troy Kingi, Jeff Szusterman, Marris Collins, Mana Hira Davis, Ihaka Kelly, Jack Tyler, Aleni Tufuga, Ethan McSaveney, Drew Young, Zac O’Meagher, Johnnie Holder & Jacinta Compton
Rating – Australia: M; New Zealand: M;