Customer Reviews

In a Savage Land

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Two academics study the natives in a remote land and are deeply affected by what they learn along the way. Pageantry, adventure, romance and an essay on cultural differences, all in one wonderful film. Rufus Sewell is fascinating and nuanced as Mick the pearl trader.

I really enjoyed this film - great story, acting, cinematography, locale, direction etc. Newcomer actress, Maya Stange, stole the show, and she was up against some great actors including Rufus Sewell (who did an in-depth emotional, yet quiet, performance). Note: This film is about a very spunky lady, during WW2, and therefore might not appeal to all men. Also received fine service via Amazon (as usual!).

I purchased this hoping to get some insights into the authentic Trobriand Culture. But in fact it mixes up Trobriand myths with reality, mixes up the Trobrianders with a more violent and superstitious group of probably Dobuans later in the film, and all without much effort to separate out what is the degenerate situation of their culture today, as compared to what it was in the time of Malinowski, much less in the early 1940s. If you read the original reports of the anthrpologist Bronislaw Malinowski, this is fairly clear. The Sexual Life of Savages They proclaim the "Bukamatula" or children's house to be the "men's house" without elaboration, and show a mythical event of women gang-raping and pissing on a tied-up man as some real thing. Also, the tree-jumping suicide was an extreme rarity, as the Trobrianders had little in the way of sexual shame to feel so terrible about. There was repression and misery to be found among the Chief's clan, and later where the missionaries had their influence, as with the women wearing shirts and such -- the film touched upon that with accuracy -- but for the most part this film does not represent the original Trobriand ways. Many of the bare-breasted women shown in the film may not even be Trobrianders, who tend to be taller and slim, and of a darker complexion than the lighter-skinned and shorter women in the film. Or possibly, this is due to contact with caucasians over the years. The story-line focuses upon the trials and tribulations of Western folk living among the natives. Little is shown of the magnificent Tula-trade boats, which went all the way from the Trobriands to India and Eastern Africa, of which the boats shown in the film are degenerated examples. No discussion of the yam harvest or farming methods, though some of the ornate village yam houses are shown. Some of the native dress and dance appears as it was in the past times, as from older photos and films, but the confusion with the violent Dobuans was perhaps the most horrible error. The Trobrianders originally had no word for "stealing" in their culture, for example, but we are shown a "Trobriand" village which points spears at outnumbered strangers, makes threats with machetes, and robs one of the westerners of all they have, clobbering her to the ground in the process. Anyhow, enjoy the film, or not, depending upon your interests. I personally found the plot line tiresome, but I was looking for something authentic, not a fictional narrative.

In spite of this being an Australian film, it is not depressing. Neither of course is it a drama, or a comedy, or whatever. It's a chronical. But since rather startling things happen every few minutes, this is not a dull film.

The point seems to be to show that Christian missionaries, government officials and, yes, anthropologists destroyed some primitive cultures, like the Trobrian Islanders. The film is even rather honest about the natives. They are not portrayed as faultless and good in every way. There is plenty of semi-nudity, including many barebreasted teenage girls. The casting of all three major roles is good and appropriate.

On the other hand, most of the movie is filmed with an orange filter--to give the appearance of the old 1920s anthropological photographs, the director says in an interview. Why didn't he shoot it at 18 fps too, so it would look like a period flick? Assinine!

Also, there is a blank spot in the story. The main character, Evelyn, leaves the Trobrians and goes to New Guinea where she stays with some really savage people, head-hunters, etc. And we are not told what happens there. The last we see of her, the natives are stealing everything she has, including her typewriter and she is being knocked down with said typewriter by the chief who is stealing it. When we see her again, three months later, she is limping badly and appears to be in a psychotic state (although I doubt if the filmmaker would recognize a psychotic state if he saw one). Just what the filmmaker intended us to guess had happened is not clear, but this kind of dodging is simply cowardly filmmaking.

Still, the film ends relatively happily considering that it's an Australian film.

Bottom line: worth seeing.