A MAORI ROMANCE.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19258, 13 March 1928, Page 13

A MAORI ROMANCE.

"HINEMOA" AT CRYSTAL PALACE. ORIGINAL AND DISTINCTIVE PRODUCTION. One of the most beautiful of all the legends in mythology is the lore story o£ Hinemoa and Tutanekai. Long before the first -white man landed on New Zealand shores the Maori story-teller entertained his audiences with this romantic story of the love oi the gallant Tutanekai lor the beautiful Arawa princess, Hinemoa, and doubtless iu every pa one of the most popular of all the Maori legends was this poetical romance of the Hero and Leander of the Ngart and A raw a tribes. -Now, after manyyears the story has beeu transferred to the screen, and will entertain pakeha audiences at the Crystal Palace Theatre this week.

"Hinemoa" is delightfully refreshing after the customary light dramas and comedies which make up the bulk of picturegoers' entertainment. The cast is an allMaori one, and the whole production was made iu New Zealand, in and around Rotorua—facts which give the picture a special interest for New Zealanders. The producer is Gustav Pauli, who has carried out his task in a highly artistic and finished manner. The scenic settings are the equal of anything yet seen on the, screen in Christchurch, and the story is unfolded without any unnecessary "padding" and without any halting or" limping in its dramatic action. The cast is particularly well chosen, and the various characters do not "act"— they are very human people, re-enacting in a delightfully natural manner a very human story. It is questionable, indeed, whether anyone else but Maoris could have made such a complete success of the production. The story in its unfolding introduces so much of the Native life and customs that many of its beauties would almost certainly have been missed if the production had emanated from any of the recognised motion picture studios. The scenic settings are particularly good, and life in the Maori pas 5 ' is vividly portrayed. The principals, whose names are not stated, are responsible for excellent characterisations of their respective roles, and the audience cannot, fail to follow their adventures with the keenest interest. . ~ Prior to the screening of "Hinemoa a troupe of Maori dancers and singers, under the direction of Mrs Rahera Tainui, appears in poi dances, canoe dances, hakas, and native songs, and a very delightful Maori maiden sings "Waiata Poi" and other songs in a highlv accomplished manner. To those who are not acquainted with Maori customs, the legend of Hinemoa, and the wonderful scenery of Rotorua, the picture and its prologue will prove an education—to one and all it will prove a highly diverting entertainment. . The first half of the programme is also of a most entertaining nature, comprising a series of topical "gazettes" and another of those verv excellent "Master Musicians series, the subject this week being episodes in the lives of Haydn and Mozart. The Symphony Orchestra, under Mr Alfred Bunz, plays an appropriate musical programme, specially selected numbers accompanying the Maori picture. The same programme will be screened all this week.