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Matahi,
Matahi,
Matahi Hitu,
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:
Robert Flaherty,
Robert Flaherty,
F.W. Murnau,
more...
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Image Entertainment
: Classics, Documentary, Classic Romance, Silent
: 81 min.
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Tabu is a lyrical documentary of Polynesian life, given added audience appeal with a fictional plotline. The story concerns a young island girl (Anna Chevalier, who like everyone in the cast is a non-professional) who has been consecrated to the gods by her tribespeople. It is thus "tabu" for her to marry; still, she falls in love with a handsome young pearl fisherman (Matahi). The island's holy man takes the girl away in his schooner. Her lover swims after her, but eventually sinks disconsolately into the ocean. Shot completely on location, it was supposed to be a collaboration between German director F. W. Murnau and American documentary producer Robert Flaherty. Flaherty withdrew from the project when he realized the film was taking a romanticized approach. Murnau never lived to see the final product; he was killed in a car accident just before the film's opening. Begun as a silent film in 1929, Tabu was released in that form in 1931, despite the fact that talking pictures already had been established for nearly three years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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| for a sense of history and pathos
by Ptaines
September 4, 2008 - 4:16 PM PDT
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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| this film is a beauty. One of the last silent films, Murnau had a vision that the natitve Tahaitian cast was able to carry off beautifully. It's not a documentary at all though we do get to see a romantized version of traditional life and how the islanders were were debased and disempowered by the money economy. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.64)
39 Votes
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