River Queen

River Queen (2005)

  • 40% of critics liked it
    (5 reviews)

  • 50% of users liked it
    (2,752 ratings)

A woman who has come to a strange land is torn between the life she knows and the new life around her in this epic-scale historical drama. In 1854, New Zealand's indigenous Maori tribes were engaged in an ongoing battle to drive away European settlers eager to establish colonies in the… More

R,
Directed By
Genres
Drama
In Theaters
Sep 12, 2005 Wide
The Works

Critic Reviews

  • Scott Foundas, Variety

    A waterlogged would-be epic, lacking the emotion, narrative invention and visual brilliance that mark [Vincent] Ward's best films.

  • Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter

    River Queen is a period drama filled with some striking imagery but which ultimately keeps viewer involvement at an unfathomable distance.

  • Anton Bitel, Eye for Film

    takes on the qualities of a disjointed vision, sometimes languid, sometimes violent, but always seeming to be only half-glimpsed on the threshold of sleep.

  • Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile

    An ambitious film from the talented, serious-minded Vincent Ward, River Queen takes us into the magnificent heart of New Zealand, both geographically and spiritually.

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Emil K


    For me this is the most assured and mature work that director Vincent Ward has made so far, but even then it comes with huge flaws. On the plus side there is the wonderful cinematography by Alun Bollinger whose work reminds me of a Terrence Malick's work. Actually River Queen is… More

  • Leo L


    Here is an intriguing movie about a young woman caught between two different worlds in 1860s New Zealand. Young Sara learns the talent and skills of stitching and sewing open flesh from her father. Employed with the army that is set upon colonizing the lands belonging to the Maoris,… More

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Cast

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