Customer Reviews

Rapa Nui

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Mythic tale of what life might have been like for the inhabitants of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) long before the coming of the white man. 'Rapa Nui' means, "navel of the world," a concept found at the basis of every archaic, shamanistic based society. Rapa Nui is a tale of young love fighting against the political, religious and social constraints of life at "the center." (SPOILER ALERT!) Noro (Jason Scott Lee) is a long-ear, a member of the tribal upperclass and the Grandson of the tribal chief. He is in love with Ramana (Sandrine Holt), a short-ear and member of the lowerclass of laborers responsible for the carving of the monolithic statues required by the religious elite.

The chief agrees to let his grandson break the taboo and marry his true love if he enters and wins a yearly intertribal competition which would bestow upon the chief the coveted "Birdman' title for the eighteenth time. It's a dangerous endeavor and he would be competing against many who would do whatever it takes to win. He will also be competing against Make (Esai Morales) his childhood friend who must win, or die. He agrees to his Grandfather's conditions and enters the race. Thus the adventure begins.

While the great day of competition approaches the aging, mentally degenerating chief dreams of a destiny of sailing away on the great white spirit canoe to the "Home of the Gods." When a giant iceberg appears in the bay at the very moment the competition ends he believes his day has arrived and has his warriors canoe him out to the ice block. As he floats away to his death he calls out to those who refused to join him, "What did you think salvation would look like?

Wonderful movie that is virtually unknown in the U.S.A., and is only available in a all-region import edition. 'Rapa Nui' has a great cast: Jason Lee Scott, Sandrine Holt (Black Robe), Esai Morales, Anzac Wallace (Utu), Rena Owen (Once Were Warriors) and Cliff Curtis (Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors) are all accomplished actors who have specialized in roles dealing with indigenous cultures. The import disc is great, don't bother to wait for the region 1!

I spent a year on Easter Island (Rapa Nui)in service to the United States. The people were very friendly and willing to talk about their island. The movie was relatively accurate concerning their past, including the cannibalism. If you lived on an island that is roughly 9 by 16 miles and that island had been deciminated by ecological ignorance, cannibalism might seem like a good idea at some point. It was not a continuing thing. The movie was Hollywoodized for entertainment purposes but was well done and the scenery was very familiar. There were two distinct races and they were the long ears and the short ears. Generally archeologist feel that one race was Polynesian and the other was South American indian. The long ears were generally exterminated in the civil war. Places were accurately named. The statues were carved on the sides of Rana Raraku(S?) and the bird men spent much of their time on the larger volcano called Rana Kao(S?) Once a year the stalwarts of the island did race to "Bird Man's Island" to bring back an egg. I believe it was for the glory and special treatment the winner recieved for the following year. I enjoyed the movie thoroughly.-----PJ

I'm becoming a Kevin Reynolds fan. The Beast is his 1988 war epic, beautifully done and under appreciated. Rapa Nui is in that league, an epic story set on Easter Island, isle of the gigantic stone statues. The premise is simple: There are two groups on the island: the dominant Long-Ears, and the subervient Short-Ears. The former have the latter carving out the huge stone statues, to assuage the gods, and to preserve the tenuous balance of life on the island. Jason Scott Lee is the grandson of the ailing leader of the Long-Ears, and is the ostensible candidate to replace him. Before any change in leadership can occur, one man from each Long-Ear tribe has to compete in a swimming race to capture and retrieve the eggs from an actic tern's nest, situated on a small island offshore. What makes Rapa Nui so gripping is its completeness in its depiction of life on that Island. It's clear that Reynolds and Tim Rose Price read Thor Heyerdahl's exhaustive study of the island. The writing isn't the greatest, but the movie moves along, with a great Steward Copeland score set to lush cinematography. Rapa Nui works as an adventure story, a romance, and a sly attack on government by theocracy. Definitely worth renting. END

I don't think this is a historically accurate account of Easter Island, which has perplexed historians for a long time, but I still think it's worth seeing as a thought exercise. The Moai raise lots of questions and this film gives a possible explanation.

The most compelling aspect of the film (other than the breathtaking scenery) is the struggle between the two "tribes" as exemplified by Esai Morales' character and the ordeals he faces as a proud and fierce member of the lesser tribe, which is made to work in service of the ruling tribe. You can feel Esai's pain to be in service to those who are destroying the land that they must live upon. Imagine putting all of your energy into a pursuit that you're not sure will pay off, but that you're sure is destroying you...

I recommend this film to anyone who is interested in other cultures, especially so-called primitive cultures, and broadening his or her prespective of the world we live in. It won't give you the answers, but it will help you form more questions. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that the love story was perhaps too convenient.

After visiting Easter Island (Rapa Nui) I wanted to see the movie. For the most part, the movie takes the actual known facts about Rapa Nui history and creates the story around them. Much of Rapa Nui history is still a mystery, so the "gap" filled in by the authors is both entertaining and possibly how history really unfolded. Personally I do not like movies that change history to make them more entertaining, but there was very little of that here. The only thing that was known to be wrong was that the Virgin Cave is really at the other side of the island, but that is only a small detail. Definately an exciting film, but I still recommend visiting the island!

While it lacks some important facts that were the primary reasons for the destruction of Easter Island's decline, the film "Rapa Nui" makes a modest attempt to try to recreate life on the most isolated piece of land on earth.

Called "Rapa Nui" by its' Polynesian inhabitants, the island was named "Easter Island" after being discovered by a Dutch schooner on an Easter Sunday in the 18th century. Produced by Kevin Costner ("Dances With Wolves"), and directed by director Kevin Reynolds ("Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves") "Rapa Nui" stars a young cast and features breathtaking scenery.

Jason Scott Lee ("Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story") and Esai Morales ("La Bamba"; "My Family") star as members of rival tribes. When Jason's character falls in love with a woman (Sandrine Holt) from the opposite tribe, troubles, rivalries, and tensions arise as both men attempt to win her love.

Filmed entirely on location on Easter Island, the film has a feeling of authencity as we can see the island's famous "moai" statues everywhere. While the birdman race, and the roles several minor characters play in the film can detract from the main story, the film makes an nice attempt to recreate the greatest civilization to arise from Oceania.

The island (annexed by Chile during the 19th century) has a blend of Latino/Polynesian cultures where Spanish and Rapa Nuian are spoken, the filmmakers really didn't cover the island's deforestation, which is believed to be the main culprit for the island's collapse. Regardless, the film allowed an anthropology student as myself to get a view and feel of Rapa Nuian culture as it could have been. Seeing it on film is much more better than seeing it in a textbook.

Fans of Thor Heyedahl's book "Kon Tiki" will probably like the film, because it explores the theory that Easter Islander's original inhabitants could have come from the South American mainland or from another Polynesian island chain. While there is substantial fact that Easter islander's made contact with their closest island neighbor, Pitcairn Island (famous from the "Bounty" mutiny) which is over 2,000 miles away, I only wish the film could have ended with a conclusion the Lee's and Holt's characters safely made it to terra firma when they set sail from Rapa Nui.

Overall, Rapa Nui will appeal to anthropology and history buffs everywhere. Pick up and check out this film instead of watching reruns of "Gilligan's Island" on syndication.

how little man has changed over the course of history to today. The class struggles and prejudices that existed oh so many years ago are still just as prevalent and destructive today as they are portrayed in this film. This film also demonstrates how much harm unwise leaders can visit upon citizens when the citizenry is less than thoughtful and introspective with regard to the policies set forth by the governing body. Yet through it all the power of love is more than ignorance can conquer. Perhaps the most telling aspect of the film is that we (mankind) have learned next to nothing from our collective history. The same stupidity still has a far too prevalent presence in our society.

Historically accurate or not (who cares) the film is thought provoking, action packed and dramatic. Kevin Costner (Producer) is to be commended for a n outstanding film.

Rapa Nui is an excellent film about a little explored subject (Easter Island history and culture), and a supurb study of a society on a one way path to social and environmental devastation. It is particularly appropriate in light of current concerns about man's impact on the environment.

I was especially delighted to find that the Korean all-region dvd contained English dialog. After being long frustrated in waiting for a Region 1 release, I had resigned myself to a Korean dialog with English subtitles. The special features item 'About the Movie' though was not written in English characters.

One of my favorite movies of all time...

IMO,this film was a hair away from being a Hollywood blockbuster, held back only by the distracting characterization of Ariki-mau and the off casting of Esai Morales. There are camera shots in here that are some of the best out there (like the descent of Rano Kau caldera during the race). The story is a fantastic weave of Easter Island's history, making only one concession: the fusing of the Moai and Birdman cult time periods. This was necessary to give the viewer the most that Rapa Nui has to offer while propelling the story.

My copy seems to have a error in the soundtrack, most obvious when the largest Moai breaks loose and crushes Hegue. I'm looking for a first pressing...Anyone know where to find it?

BTW, this concept would make a great series like Rome...HBO are you listening? :)

I caught this film almost accidentally in a motel while traveling and was spellbound.

It has a lot of convincing drama, and a great action sequence
involving a grueling traditional competition
between the strongest men on the island.

The deeper meaning here is the danger of slavish devotion to BAD leaders
with short-sighted spiritual "vision"--In this case the
high priest of the island and his elders/cohorts who command
the continuous building of the now-famous, huge stone statues of Easter Island,
despite limited resources available, to please the gods (and the leader).

Their religion, and the slavish devotion to it, in blind faith,
eventually seals the islanders' doom.

As much as anything, the film depicts the great dangers of obsessively seeking salvation
through blind faith in, what are, basically, BAD IDEAS.

When we devote too much concern and focus to what we believe is demanded by "the next world",
we lose our grip on THIS world, and risk losing all.

IMO, a timeless message.