A New Zealand movie that satisfies the feminine urge to commit justified arson!

We Were Dangerous, a New Zealand film initially released in 2024, is an adventurous and heartwarming story. Set in 1950s New Zealand, in the throes of British colonialism, the film primarily takes place at the Te Motu School for Incorrigible and Delinquent Girls. After one too many attempts at escape, the school has been moved to an island previously used to house lepers and convicts, an interesting commentary on how young girls with “illnesses” such as “hysteria,” “uncontrollable sexual desires,” and tendencies for theft are treated by society as diseases or crimes. Life is strict and unbearable on the island, with the Matron (played by Rima Te Wiata) attempting to Christianize and reform the exuberant group into “proper young women.” She whips their hands, prevents them from dancing or speaking their native language, Māori, and forces them to repeat dull stock English phrases. Though balanced by comedy and tenderness, the film takes a darker turn when the Matron allows a doctor to come onto the island and, in the middle of the night in the “first aid” cabin, perform sterilization experiments on the girls. 

This horrific crime is discovered by the film’s three protagonists: the rebellious Māori “cousins”–not by blood but by deep friendship–Daisy (Manaia Hall) and Nellie (Erana James), and the newest arrival to the school, Louisa (Nathalie Morris), a European lesbian sent to the school for conversion therapy. When they discover the medical experiments taking place, the three girls hatch a plan to set fire to the medical cabin and build a raft to escape the island. The film ends on a triumphant note, which, along with a few frustrating loose ends (we never find out what happens to the girl taken into the medical cabin; she’s just said to disappear to the mainland) almost overshadows the real horror of colonial reform schools. Aside from that, the movie is wonderful: quick, snappy dialogue and amazing performances from the actors means a light, hopeful tone dominates most of the movie. The characters are well-rounded; even the cruel Matron becomes an object of sympathy, when we see a flashback of her youth in a convent and the unachievable European social ideals drilled into her from an early age. We Were Dangerous is an excellent exploration of female friendship, education, and culture in the face of colonialism, and a great choice for this year’s Athena Film Festival.

Header via Athena Film Festival