Karl Puschmann: Is local feel good comedy Red, White & Brass a showstopper or a bit flat?

Red, White & Brass is an unashamed feel-good film with a warmhearted vibe. Photo / 818

If rugby is a game of two halves then so too is Red, White & Brass. This new local comedy, which is in cinemas now, is fairly punishing and a bit of an endurance test before the half-time whistle. Fortunately, the film superbly rallies in the back end to ultimately snatch a hard-fought, if scrappy, win.

The story is certainly inspiring and should hold huge appeal to everyone in the Pacific. It’s a classic underdog tale that proves with enough heart, māfana and belief your wildest dreams can be achieved. I say “proves” instead of “shows” because this unbelievable tale actually happened. As the opening credits state, it’s a “straight-up” true story.

Set in Wellington during the glory days of New Zealand rugby, the movie is about a group of Tongan churchgoers desperate to get tickets to the 2011 World Cup match between their beloved home country and France. With tickets to the big game sold out, they resign themselves to watching at home. A chance meeting between die-hard fan Maka and one of Wellington’s tournament organisers leads to him grasping at the slimmest of straws as a potential way to get them all to the game.

All they have to do is form a marching brass band, come up with a show-stopping routine and ace the audition for a spot in the pre-match entertainment, therefore, gaining the coveted entrance to the stadium.

Red, White & Brass is based on a true story.

Easy enough? No. It’s far-fetched and ridiculous. And that’s before you factor in that they have no musical skill or ability and there’s only a month before kick-off.

This is where passion comes into play. Rather than accepting the folly of the endeavour, Maka rouses his troops and outright refuses to accept defeat. Even when facing certain defeat. He concocts a rigorous training programme and the group begin practicing, first with plastic bottles before gradually moving up to real instruments borrowed from the school hosting the music lessons they join.

With the odds stacked against them, the movie does a solid job of throwing even more obstacles in their way than just their initial incompetence. There are falling outs within the group, the objections of the church - a huge influence and part of their Tongan culture -, rivalry with a smug go-getter, examinations into what it means to be Tongan and how Tongan you need to be, an exploration of father-and-son relationships and, of course, the monumental nature of the task at hand.

It’s a lot to cram into its tight 85-minute running time. And while it does breeze over most of these plot points quickly it deserves to be applauded for not just the ambition but also for satisfyingly wrapping them all up by the time the final whistle blows.

Missed out on tickets? Form a marching band.

Red, White & Brass makes no bones about the sort of film it is. It doesn’t try to put a fresh spin on the formula or innovate in any particular way. It’s an unashamed feel-good film with a warmhearted vibe. There’s no doubt about how the movie is going to end for our ragtag group of wannabe brass banders. Even if, like me, you didn’t know the real story behind the film.

You will have seen this sort of humorously spirited film of triumph against the odds a hundred times before, but the Tongan flavour, or māfana, is what makes it unique. 2020′s action-comedy The Legend of Baron T’oa did a great job of bringing Aotearoa’s Tongan culture to the big screen and Red, White & Brass picks up that ball and runs away with it like rugby legend and Tongan hero Jonah Lomu.

It’s impossible to leave the film without a better understanding and insight into the culture than when you went in. It also shows why there’s more than mere patriotism behind all the cars and houses festooned with red flags that you see every time Tonga’s rugby team hits the pitch.

Red, White & Brass is in cinemas now.

While its start is shaky, and its over-reliance on wacky dance move humour grates, the small asides and quiet zings make up for it. “You better hope mum and dad don’t find out about this,” Maka’s brother says when learning about the plan, before instantly turning around and shouting out to the other room, “Muuuum!”

It also feels a wasted opportunity to have not shown footage of the real-life Taulanga U Brass Band’s actual World Cup performance over the credits. I guess there’s always YouTube for that.

In a lot of ways the viewing experience matches the onscreen action, although I doubt that was by design. It’s tough going at first and in moments you’ll want to quit. But persevere and the project’s māfana, enthusiasm, energy and spirit does indeed win you over.

Similar, in fact, to how Tonga won over France in that history-making World Cup match all those years ago and how a bunch of enthusiastic sports fans made their own World Cup dreams come true in the most unlikely of ways.