An orphaned seafarer returns to his homeland after 25 years and faces a life-altering conflict that pits his worldly ambitions against his ancestral identity. 

SYNOPSIS:

(Tahiti 1960) TAAROA (5) and his little girlfriend, EILEEN(same age), are rescued while drifting in the deep sea. The ordeal forever seals a bond between the two children, and they promise to look after each other for the rest of their lives. But Taaroa’s mother, a young widow, finds it hard to control her fidgety son. She worries about his future. Then a chance meeting with Greg, a businessman from New Zealand, presents an opportunity. Greg offers to take Taaroa with him to New Zealand for school. Taaroa’s grandfather is deeply against the plan, fearing the boy will change if he is uprooted from his homeland.

(NZ 1985) Greg ends up adopting Taaroa after his mother and grandfather die in Tahiti. He is now named Tangaroa. His memories of Tahiti are very painful as he holds the French responsible for the loss of his family. The settlement reached for the nuclear experiments by the French in Tahiti since the sixties, doesn’t fix things in his mind. Tangaroa manages to become a captain of a ferry. He likes partying and is a womanizer. One of his hookups, EWA, is madly in love with him.

Meanwhile in Tahiti, Eileen grows up as a tough young girl. She is the total opposite of her half- sister Tehiva , a gorgeous professional dancer. Tangaroa is given the opportunity to go to Tahiti to sail the famous boat, Hokule’a, back to New Zealand. Tangaroa reluctantly accepts. The day before the departure, the Rainbow Warrior, a French spy ship is blown up by Greenpeace in Auckland. This episode reopens the wounds of Tangaroa’s past.

Once in Tahiti, Tangaroa meets Tehiva and Eileen during a dance show. He hardly recognizes them. Tehiva, the beautiful girl, is instantly attracted to Tangaroa, whereas he, on the other hand, finds Eileen intriguing and mysterious. During his stay, Tangaroa rediscovers progressively the customs and the culture of Tahiti. He also witnesses an adoption of a Tahitian boy by a French couple. This event -- coupled with the meeting of the major figures of Tahiti’s cultural evolution -- lead him to understand his true self.

Tangaroa grows some intimacy with Eileen who gains self-confidence and turns into a more feminine woman. This makes Tehiva jealous and brings tension between them. When everything seems perfect, Tehiva questions Eileen about Tangaroa’s sincerity to her. The arrival of Ewa, the Maori girl, in Tahiti seems to prove Tehiva is right. Eileen desperate runs away to hide. Tangaroa goes after Alean without success. The day of Tangaroa’s departure to New Zealand on Hokule’a, Eileen has a revelation and rushes to meet Tangaroa in the open sea on a damaged canoe. When she reaches him, the canoe breaks and sinks with Eileen. Tangaroa rescues her and manages to bring her back to life.

They end up living in New Zealand and starting a family.

PAPA'A (FOREIGNER AT HOME)