Title: Wounded Warriors (2025)
Director: Richard Sergeant
Run Time: 46mins 51secs
Star(s): Numa Junior Numa • Grace Vanua • Renagi Kila • Toby Kema
When a young man attends a group therapy session, he must confront the underlying trauma that has plagued his family’s line for generations.
Wounded Warriors is a simple film with a powerful message of forging new paths amidst a pattern of destructive normalized behaviors.
The film covers themes of generational trauma, change vs tradition and maturity.
The main character, Laka, is a young man who has carried on the destructive behavior of wife beating into his marriage.
His journey from a wife-beater into a mature and caring partner and father is an inspiration to individuals making that same journey.
While the plot of Wounded Warriors is admirable, the film does have its downsides.
The film’s script and line delivery are rather bland and unstimulating, which overall makes the watch cringe and tiresome.
Actors are acting as though they are in rehearsal and not on set filming.
Yet despite this, the cast and crew do deserve praise for putting in the effort of creating a film that highlights serious issues faced by Papua New Guineans.
A film that also sends the message that, change is possible, but it must start with you before it gets to your community.
Additionally, in a country like Papua New Guinea where, filmmaking and acting are not common career paths chosen, films like Wounded Warriors can motivate aspiring filmmakers to craft films of their own.