Backdrop fallback

The Dark Horse

The Dark Horse

Share

The Dark Horse

"Bravery is contagious"

2014

2h 4m

6.3(147 votes)

Drama

History

Overview

One-time Maori speed-chess champ, Genesis Potini, lives with a bi-polar disorder and must overcome prejudice and violence in the battle to save his struggling chess club, his family and ultimately, himself.

Links & Resources

Website IMDbView

Social & External

Production Companies

Four Knights Film

The people behind it

Cast & crew

10 featured cast members

Starring

Cliff Curtis

Cliff Curtis

Genesis

James Rolleston

James Rolleston

Mana

Kirk Torrance

Kirk Torrance

Noble

Sia Trokenheim

Sia Trokenheim

Nurse

Andrew Grainger

Andrew Grainger

Clive

Xavier Horan

Xavier Horan

Jedi

Roseanne Liang

Roseanne Liang

Nurse

Miriama McDowell

Miriama McDowell

Sandy

Rachel House

Rachel House

Vagrant Woman

Wayne Hapi

Wayne Hapi

Ariki

Creative team

Directed by: James Napier Robertson
Written by: James Napier Robertson
Produced by: Tom Hern

Similar Movies

The Children of Huang Shi

The Children of Huang Shi

About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.

Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights

A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles, is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.

Komang

Komang

Fate brought together Ode, a young man from Buton with big dreams, and Ade, a wanderer from Bali. Like two souls in love, they believed that fate would one day unite them. However, their journey was hindered by the presence of another man who shared the same faith as Ade, and Ode had to go to Jakarta to pursue his dreams. Will fate ultimately bring Ode and Ade together?

The Dam Busters

The Dam Busters

The story of the conception of a new British weapon for smashing the German dams in the Ruhr industrial complex and the execution of the raid by 617 Squadron 'The Dam Busters'.

Gino: A Child of War

Gino: A Child of War

An account of a young Italian boy who was taken in by a Canadian military unit during World War II.

October Sky

October Sky

The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.

Shattered Glass

Shattered Glass

Stephen Glass is a staff writer for the respected current events and policy magazine The New Republic and a freelance feature writer for publications such as Rolling Stone, Harper's and George. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events - chronicled in Buzz Bissinger's September 1998 Vanity Fair article - suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.

Antwone Fisher

Antwone Fisher

A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. Through the guidance of his doctor, he confronts his painful past and begins a quest to find the family he never knew.

Soul on Fire

Soul on Fire

After a horrific accident leaves his body scarred, a young boy strives to live and show everyone what is possible with the help of his family, his faith, his community, his longtime idol's kindness, and the entire city of St. Louis.

Breaker Morant

Breaker Morant

During the Boer War, three Australian lieutenants are on trial for shooting Boer prisoners. Though they acted under orders, they are being used as scapegoats by the General Staff, who hopes to distance themselves from the irregular practices of the war. The trial does not progress as smoothly as expected by the General Staff, as the defence puts up a strong fight in the courtroom.

Fresh

Fresh

Death and violence anger twelve year old drug courier Fresh, who sets his rival employers against each other.

Perianayaki

Perianayaki

Fifty-six-year-old Perianayaki contends with the difficulties of fitting into her new home, especially at the local supermarket where she works. Eye-opening and brimming with compassion, the latest film from director Bala Murali Shingade is a slice-of-life character study that provokes questions about multiculturalism and our assumptions about the people we encounter in daily life.

Katyn

Katyn

On September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invades Poland, unleashing World War II. On September 17th, the Soviet Red Army crosses the border. The Polish army, unable to fight on two fronts, is defeated. Thousands of Polish men, both military and government officials, are captured by the invaders. Their fate will only be known several years later.

Wellington Speedcubing

Wellington Speedcubing

On June 21st, 2025, a film crew was sent to a competition in Wellington to document the niche sport and community of speedcubing. James Macdiarmid attempts to solve over 40 Rubik's cubes in a row blindfolded.

Peaceful Warrior

Peaceful Warrior

A chance encounter with a stranger changes the life of a college gymnast.

Mesrine: Killer Instinct

Mesrine: Killer Instinct

Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and dedicated soldier, is back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Soon he is seduced by the neon glamour of sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido, Mesrine turns his back on middle class law-abiding and soon moves swiftly up the criminal ladder.

No Family Without Blood

After a C-suite executive, at a family-owned business, fails in attempts for a hostile takeover, he persuades a third of the managerial staff to travel to the corporation's newest regional territory for a strong initiation of a rival start-up organization. Stakes rise as employees within the new territory are now in danger of losing their positions, homes, stability, and quality of life. In an emergency company board meeting, the CEO presents a plan to embark upon the dangerous mission of going undercover to save the family's company and recover the loss.

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

Five years have passed and Jake has turned his back on his family. He's still up to his usual tricks in McClutchy's Bar, unaware, as he downs his latest opponent, that his eldest son, Nig, has died in a gang fight. The uncomfortable family reunion at Nig's funeral sparks a confrontation with second son, Sonny, and sets Jake and Sonny on a downward spiral.

At Close Range

Brad Whitewood Jr. lives in rural Pennsylvania and has few prospects. Against his mother's wishes, he seeks out his estranged father, the head of a gang of thieves in a nearby town. Though his new girlfriend supports his criminal ambitions, Brad Jr. soon learns that his father is a dangerous man.

The Easy Way

The Easy Way

Albert Spaggiari is arrested in Nice and brought to a judge's office for interrogation, but he escapes to South America where he meets a journalist who is investigating the event.

Recommended Movies

The Convert

The Convert

Munro, a soldier turned lay preacher, comes to New Zealand to minister to the first British colonists, but he is converted by the powerful chief Maianui to serve a different purpose.

Life of a King

Life of a King

The true story of one man's mission to give inner city kids of Washington DC something he never had - a future. After being incarcerated for eighteen years, Eugene Brown established the Big Chair Chess Club to get kids off the streets and working towards lives they never believed they were capable of. This is his inspirational story.

Panther

Panther

In this sprawling, fictionalized history of the Black Panthers, 1960s Oakland becomes a war zone as the Panthers battle for the right to exist.

Oslo

Oslo

The true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that led to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.

The Kill Team

The Kill Team

When Andrew Briggman — a young soldier in the US Army during the invasion of Afghanistan — witnesses the murderous behavior of fellow soldiers, under the direction of a malevolent Sergeant, he faces a moral dilemma. His increasingly-violent platoon becomes suspicious that someone in their ranks has turned on them, and Andrew begins to fear for his safety. A fictionalized dramatization based on a true story.

Zulu

Zulu

In 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, man-of-the-people Lt. Chard and snooty Lt. Bromhead are in charge of defending the isolated and vastly outnumbered Natal outpost of Rorke's Drift from tribal hordes.

The Young One

The Young One

A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

Rush

Rush

In the 1970s, a rivalry propels race car drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt to fame and glory — until a horrible accident threatens to end it all.

Beast

Beast

MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.

The Nest

The Nest

Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy’s reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution by impressing its Governor through his prowess as a long distance runner. He is encouraged to compete in an upcoming race, but faces ridicule from his peers.

Oranges and Sunshine

Oranges and Sunshine

The story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovers one of the most significant social scandals in recent times – the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom to Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Almost singlehandedly, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice.

Seeking Justice

Seeking Justice

After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.

Nuremberg

Nuremberg

In postwar Germany, an American psychiatrist must determine whether Nazi prisoners are fit to go on trial for war crimes, and finds himself in a complex battle of intellect and ethics with Hermann Göring, Hitler's right-hand man.

The Last Duel

The Last Duel

King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris, by challenging him to a duel.

Firebrand

Firebrand

Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, is named regent while the tyrant battles abroad. When the king returns, increasingly ill and paranoid, Katherine finds herself fighting for her own survival.

Hands of Stone

Hands of Stone

The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.

William Tell

William Tell

The narrative unfolds in the 14th Century, when the European nations vie for supremacy within the Holy Roman Empire. The ambitious Austrian Empire, desiring more land, invades neighbouring Switzerland, a serene and pastoral nation. Protagonist William Tell, a formerly peaceful hunter, finds himself forced to take action as his family and homeland come under threat from the oppressive Austrian King and his ruthless warlords.

Emancipation

Emancipation

Inspired by the gripping true story of a man who would do anything for his family—and for freedom. When Peter, an enslaved man, risks his life to escape and return to his family, he embarks on a perilous journey of love and endurance.