| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Graybeard Longhunter |
Posted - July 14 2004 : 1:30:52 PM
What did you think about the film Black Robe?
I read that Russell Means did not agree with the way the film depicted Indians.
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| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Bookworm |
Posted - July 20 2004 : 07:46:04 AM
I share Fitz Williams' and Susquesus's high opinion of this excellent movie. It seems even more realistic than LOTM, maybe because it's not based on a familiar story, doesn't feature well-known actors, and is set in a time and place that's less familiar to us than New York in the 1750's. I especially liked how the movie tried to portray the two cultures trying (and mostly failing) to understand each other -- for example, when the young Frenchman tries to explain to the priest that the Algonquins have their own belief in an afterlife ("where the souls of men hunt the souls of animals"), and the priest tells him not to be misled by the Indians' unbelief. As for the violence committed by the Indians in the movie -- well, Russell Means would REALLY not like the book on which the movie is based. I believe the author, Brian Moore, took much of his information (certainly the torture of the Jesuit missionaries) from the Jesuit Relations. One quibble about the movie -- Indians would not have engaged in sex with a female captive, as she might the next day become a sister, mother, or other female relative. But overall, I would recommend it highly. |
| susquesus |
Posted - July 14 2004 : 11:57:52 PM
"Black Robe" also graces my collection, it's my 2nd favorite film about the French in North America. Check out this related thread:
http://www.mohicanpress.com/messageboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1379 |
| Fitz Williams |
Posted - July 14 2004 : 3:26:11 PM
An exceptionally good film. Maybe the best period film. It seems the Canadians try a little harder to get things right. I have the VHS and the DVD. You need the DVD to get all the detail. There is a lot Russell Means doesn't agree with. He is very likeable, and very interesting to listen to. But he holds to the opinion that Indians were peace-loving peoples who were corrupted by the Europeans, therefore is unhappy with some of the violence in Black Robe, and, I think, the role of the dwarf. Of course there was mourning war, and the fact that the Hurons were almost wiped out by the Iroquois in 1649, as well as evidence of pre-contact war, etc. He may be right on some of this, but the movie is still very accurate, just not perfect. |
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