New Zealand's unique brand of gang culture is the backdrop for this thoughtful character drama more interested in exploring the longterm effects of childhood abuse than the broader activities or impact of our street gangs.
In 1989, Damage (Aussie actor Jake Ryan) is the second-in-command of the Savages gang, led
by his best mate Moses (John Tui). Although the first thing we see Damage do is mete out some brutal hammer-related punishment to an insubordinate member, we are principally exposed to the brotherly bond between the Savages as they hang out drinking and singing late into the night.
We then flash back to Damage's childhood in 1965, when he was still known as Danny. Part of a large family with a brutal, violent father, Danny is sent to live in a boys home after one too many scrapes. There he is sexually abused and first encounters the awesomely brash Moses. Living on the street as teenagers several years later, Danny and Moses decide to start their own gang, but Danny's loyalties are tested when he re-encounters his brother, a member of a rival gang.
Back in 1989, Damage struggles with abuse-related intimacy issues, attempts to reconnect with his family and seeks to help a young prospect escape the gang life.
