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What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999) movie poster

Plot Summary

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
1999 · 108 mins · English
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Directed by
Ian Mune
Starring
Temuera Morrison, Rawiri Paratene, Joseph Kairau, Julian Arahanga, Pete Smith, Rena Owen

Former warriors bound by honor now face the fallout of their choices. Five years after abandoning his family, Jake spends his nights at McClutchy’s Bar, unaware that his eldest son Nig was killed in a gang shooting. Nig’s funeral forces a tense reunion, sparking a clash with his surviving son Sonny and pulling both father and son deeper into a desperate, self‑destructive spiral.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 What happens: full plot
  3. 3 Plot questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
  6. 6 Every angle
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Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

The story centers on the simmering violence between New Zealand gangs, starting when Nig Heke, a member of the Black Hawks, is killed during a raid on their rival crew, the Black Snakes. His father, Jake Heke, known as “the Muss,” reluctantly attends Nig’s tangi but is ostracized by his family for his role in the suicide of his daughter Grace. Nig’s younger brother, Sonny Heke, vows revenge on the Hawks’ hard-edged leader, Grunt, after learning Grunt had set Nig up. In a calculated move, Sonny teams up with Nig’s former girlfriend, Tania Rogers, robbing a bank and using the money to pay the Black Snakes’ leader, Apeman, to strike at the Hawks.

Meanwhile, the path of another family member unfolds as the tension rises. The road to stability for Jake becomes jagged when his relentless brawling gets him barred from his favorite pub and his girlfriend leaves him. He finds a glimmer of purpose through new friendships with two construction workers who teach him how to hold steady relationships without always needing to dominate, and who also show him the rewards of honest work and time spent boar hunting.

The underbelly of the vendetta deepens when Apeman refuses to honor his bargain and sexually abuses Tania Rogers. In response, she and Sonny take matters into their own hands and kill Grunt, a brutal act that stirs a full-blown gang war. The fallout is stark: Tania is killed, Sonny is left badly beaten, and Apeman plans to decapitate Sonny and present his severed head as a grim peace offering to the Black Hawks. Amid the chaos, Jake Heke fights his way through the violence and manages to rescue Sonny, bringing him home to safety.

Last updated: April 07, 2026 at 21:05

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Plot questions answered

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why was Jake ostracized at Nig's tangi?

Jake was ostracized because he played a role in his daughter Grace's suicide. The family holds him responsible for her death, making his presence at Nig's funeral uncomfortable and causing the family to reject him despite his grief over losing Nig.

  • jake heke
  • grace
  • suicide
  • tangi
  • family rejection
Q2

Why did Sonny want revenge on Grunt?

Sonny learned that Grunt, the Black Hawks' leader, had deliberately set Nig up during the raid on the Black Snakes. This betrayal, that Nig was killed because his own leader orchestrated the situation, fueled Sonny's vow to kill Grunt.

  • sonny heke
  • grunt
  • nig heke
  • revenge
  • black hawks
  • betrayal
Q3

How did the bank robbery factor into the revenge plot?

Sonny and Tania robbed a bank to fund their revenge against the Black Hawks. They used the stolen money to pay Apeman, the Black Snakes' leader, to attack the Black Hawks, essentially hiring rival gang members to strike at Grunt's crew.

  • bank robbery
  • tania rogers
  • apeman
  • black snakes
  • payment
Q4

Why did Apeman betray Tania and assault her?

After receiving payment from Sonny and Tania, Apeman refused to honor the bargain. He sexually abused Tania as a brutal display of power, betraying the deal and violating her, which ultimately pushed Tania and Sonny to take direct action against Grunt themselves.

  • apeman
  • tania rogers
  • assault
  • betrayal
  • black snakes
Q5

What happened to Tania at the end of the movie?

Tania was killed in retaliation for the killing of Grunt. After Sonny and Tania murdered Grunt, the Black Hawks retaliated, Tania was murdered and Sonny was brutally beaten, leaving him near death before Jake rescued him.

  • tania rogers
  • death
  • grunt
  • retaliation
  • gang war
Q6

How did Jake change from a violent brawler to someone who saved Sonny?

After being barred from the pub and losing his girlfriend due to his constant fighting, Jake befriended two construction workers who taught him healthier ways to relate to people, showing him the rewards of honest work and camaraderie without dominance. This new support network helped Jake evolve enough to fight through the gang war and rescue Sonny.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Jake's loneliness and drinking set the stage for his eventual openness to change.

  • jake heke
  • redemption
  • construction workers
  • boar hunting
  • sonny rescue
Q7

What was Apeman's plan with Sonny's decapitation?

After Tania was killed and Sonny was beaten nearly to death, Apeman planned to decapitate Sonny and present his severed head as a peace offering to the Black Hawks, attempting to end the gang war by sacrificing Sonny to their rival gang.

  • apeman
  • sonny heke
  • decapitation
  • peace offering
  • black hawks
Q8

Was Nig's death during the raid intentional or accidental?

Nig was killed during a Black Hawks raid against their rivals, the Black Snakes. However, it was later revealed that Grunt had set Nig up, deliberately placing him in a dangerous position that led to his death, making it a calculated betrayal rather than a random act of violence.

  • nig heke
  • black snakes
  • raid
  • grunt
  • set up
Q9

Why did Jake's girlfriend leave him?

Jake's girlfriend left him because his constant brawling and violence made him unreliable and dangerous to be around. His pattern of getting into fights at McClutchy's Bar eventually led to him being barred, and this instability drove her away.

  • jake heke
  • girlfriend
  • pub
  • brawl
  • bar
Q10

What role did the boar hunting play in Jake's transformation?

The boar hunting trips with his new construction worker friends represented Jake's first experience of healthy camaraderie without violence or dominance. These outings helped him learn to form genuine friendships and find purpose outside of fighting, contributing to his redemption arc.

  • jake heke
  • boar hunting
  • construction workers
  • friendship
  • redemption
Q11

What was Jake's role in Grace's suicide?

The summary indicates Jake was involved in his daughter Grace's suicide, though the specific details of how he contributed are not fully explained in the provided text. This involvement is the reason his family ostracized him and why attending Nig's tangi was so painful for him.

  • grace
  • jake heke
  • daughter
  • suicide
  • family trauma
Q12

How did the gang war escalate so quickly?

The gang war escalated through a chain of retaliations: Nig's death triggered Sonny's revenge, which led to the bank robbery payoff, which led to Apeman's betrayal and assault, which led to Grunt's killing, which led to Tania's death and Sonny's beating, and finally to Jake's rescue. Each act of violence fueled the next, creating an unstoppable cycle.

  • gang war
  • black hawks
  • black snakes
  • escalation
  • revenge cycle

Movie threads

More Movies Like What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Gritty Family Reckonings like in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

Fractured families confront past trauma through violence and sacrifice. Discover movies like What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? that explore fractured families confronting past trauma through violence and sacrifice. These intense dramas feature heavy emotional weight, dark tones, and bittersweet endings where redemption comes at a great cost.

  • gritty
  • tense
  • desperate
  • somber
  • brutal
  • redemptive
  • Tone: dark, desperate, redemptive
  • Pacing: fast, driven by conflict
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives typically begin with a traumatic event that forces estranged family members back together, often reigniting old conflicts. The story follows their descent into further violence and desperation before reaching a climax where a family member makes a significant sacrifice, leading to a hard-won but incomplete redemption.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here for their shared exploration of family trauma, cycles of violence, and the possibility of redemption through sacrifice. They feature high intensity, dark tones, heavy emotional weight, and focus on the complex dynamics between fathers and sons in violent environments.

Urban Crime Descent stories like What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

Characters trapped in cycles of gang violence and desperate revenge. Explore movies similar to What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? that depict characters trapped in cycles of gang violence and desperate revenge. These fast-paced crime dramas feature high intensity action, dark urban settings, and stories about the devastating cost of violence.

  • violent
  • tense
  • gritty
  • brutal
  • desperate
  • oppressive
  • Tone: gritty, violent, desperate
  • Pacing: fast, action-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These films follow characters who become increasingly entangled in gang warfare and revenge cycles, often starting from a personal loss. The narrative escalates through violent confrontations, criminal activities, and moral compromises, showing how the environment and circumstances push characters toward self-destruction before any possibility of escape or redemption emerges.

Why they belong together: This thread groups movies that share a focus on urban crime environments, cyclical violence, and the psychological toll of revenge. They feature fast pacing, high intensity action sequences, gritty settings, and explore how characters navigate and potentially break free from destructive patterns.

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Movies Like What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

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Every angle

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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