Sometimes when you make love you make war. <BR>&nbsp;

Sometimes when you make love you make war.

Broken English is a Romeo and Juliet-like story, which is set in Auckland and involves the passionate relationship between Nina - Aleksandra Vujcic - a Croatian who lives with her family and who is dominated by her ultra-conservative father, and Eddie - Julian Arahanga - a Maori Chef. The lovers` nemesis is Ivan - Radeh Serbedzija, whose irrational violence can be terrifying and whose traditional beliefs, exacerbated by the experience of the Bosnian war, have been brought, undiluted, to this new land..... The three central performances are very powerful, but co-writer and director Gregor Nicholas, not content with his relatively straightforward story line, simplifies matters even more by romanticising the Maoris and demonising the Croats, who are depicted as oafish, beer-swilling thugs. The directorial overkill seems determined to shock the viewer, with unnecessarily graphic sexual encounters and strident emotional hysterics. Under the circumstances, it`s a credit to the actors that they perform as well as they do.