Sons for the Return Home

Sons is often funny, often sharp in its insights, welcomely serious in intention and complex in its working out of a tangle of related questions — an important film.

– Listener reviewer Tom McWilliams, 3 November 1979

I was attracted to the story by its honest critique of both the European and Samoan cultures. Albert [Wendt] had picked up on the sub-facism of settler culture and was critical of the closed prejudices in the Samoan family. 

– Paul Maunder, in his 2021 book Performer - A Memoir

We went through the post-production process, then had a hiccup before the premiere in Auckland when the elders complained about the sex scenes. I went to a community meeting and the young ones challenged the elders. We live in New Zealand now, we need to grow up. the pemiere went ahead. 

– Paul Maunder, in his 2021 book Performer - A Memoir, page 123

It was a modest buget, around $375,000 from memory, but nevertheless, filming a feature is a tense business because you're spending so much money ever day . . . You only need the weather to turn for a couple of days and you're in trouble. 

– Paul Maunder, in his 2021 book Performer - A Memoir, page 120