What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Bone People
Keri Hulme · Book · 1985
If you loved The Bone People, start with Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori, 1994) — a film on the same thread. Below: 4 films, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Bone People across media.
You connected with The Bone People because of its raw, visceral exploration of broken individuals forging unconventional bonds amidst haunting isolation.
Films on the same thread
The Piano
Jane Campion · Film · 1993
Explores: repressed desire, female agency, isolation.
Like The Bone People, this film captures the harsh, isolated beauty of the New Zealand landscape while mirroring the intense, volatile power dynamics between its emotionally guarded protagonists.
Once Were Warriors
Lee Tamahori · Film · 1994
Shares a thread with The Bone People: Cultural Identity.
This film shares the unflinching examination of Maori identity and the cycle of intergenerational trauma found in The Bone People, grounding its narrative in the grit of domestic reality.
The Wicker Man
Robin Hardy · Film · 1973
Explores: Religious Conflict, Isolation, Loss of Innocence.
The Bone People evokes a similar sense of foreboding isolation and cultural friction as this film, where a solitary outsider becomes trapped within a mysterious and impenetrable community.
Heavenly Creatures
Peter Jackson · Film · 1994
Explores: Female Friendship, Obsession, Escapism.
Much like the obsessive connection between the characters in The Bone People, this story explores the dark, transformative intensity of a bond that isolates two people from the world.
Series on the same thread
Bones
Hart Hanson · Series · 2005
Explores: Skeletal Remains, Partnership, Science vs. Faith.
While lighter in tone, this show mirrors the unlikely partnership and intellectual friction that define the core relationship in The Bone People, centered on characters defined by their unconventionality.
Doom Patrol
Jeremy Carver · Series · 2019
Shares a thread with The Bone People: Found Family.
The Bone People resonates through its focus on found family, and this series echoes that theme by following scarred, traumatized individuals who find purpose and belonging in one another.
The Singing Detective
Dennis Potter · Series · 1986
Shares a thread with The Bone People: Psychological Drama.
This series reflects the psychological intensity of The Bone People, as a protagonist battling physical and mental confinement uses imagination to navigate the fractures within their own identity.
It's Okay to Not Be Okay
Park Shin-woo · Series · 2020
Shares a thread with The Bone People: found family.
The Bone People explores the painful process of healing through connection, a theme mirrored here as two damaged souls attempt to bridge their emotional gaps through an unlikely bond.
Podcasts on the same thread
Grey Areas with Petra Bagust
Podcast
Explores: aging gracefully, midlife, self-discovery.
If you appreciated the reflective, personal narrative style of The Bone People, this exploration of identity and aging in New Zealand offers a similar focus on self-discovery.
Search & Rescue NZ
Podcast
Explores: search and rescue operations, wilderness survival, human resilience.
The Bone People is deeply rooted in the unforgiving New Zealand wilderness, and these stories of human resilience mirror the struggle for survival against a harsh, indifferent environment.
Keep exploring
Common questions
What is the primary setting of The Bone People?
The Bone People is set in a tower located on the New Zealand sea. This remote location serves as the home for Kerewin Holmes, an artist who has chosen to live in exile from her family before her solitude is disrupted by the arrival of a boy named Simon.
Who are the main characters featured in The Bone People?
The main characters in The Bone People are Kerewin Holmes and a young, speechless boy named Simon. Kerewin is a person of mixed Maori and European descent who has become estranged from her art, while Simon is a mercurial visitor who enters her life and changes her solitary existence.
How does the relationship between Kerewin and Simon begin in The Bone People?
In The Bone People, the relationship begins when Simon attempts to steal from Kerewin at her tower. Instead of a standard confrontation, Simon repays her with his most precious possession. This interaction leads Kerewin to succumb to his feral charm and fall under his influence.
Is Kerewin Holmes a professional artist in The Bone People?
While Kerewin Holmes is described as an artist in The Bone People, she is currently estranged from her art. She lives a life of self-imposed exile in a tower by the New Zealand sea, distancing herself from her creative work and her family until Simon arrives.