This is the 638th film I've seen from the 1,222 movies on the "Before You Die" list that I'm gradually working through. The number jumped from 633 (Freedom for Us) due to the latest edition adding 11 films.
Director: F.W. Murnau
A daring ethnographic fable that, while slow by modern standards, tells a fairly compelling tale.
Set in Bora Bora roughly around the 1920s, Tabu tells the tale of a young native man (known only as "The Boy") who falls in love with the daughter of the island chief. The problem is that "The Girl" is meant to be a virginal idol, in keeping with the natives' traditional beliefs, and she will be kept in isolation from the eyes of any men. The Boy and Girl, wanting to be together, flee their home and sail to a more distant island, where Western people and more modern commerce and vice have taken a foothold. Though initially happy with their freedom, The Boy and Girl soon fall prey to darker forces. The Boy, though a skilled pearl diver, is oblivious to the greed and extortion inherent in some of those who seek to exploit him. Meanwhile, The Girl is gradually wracked by guilt for abandoning her tribe, despite the strict demands thrust upon her by her culture. She eventually decides to flee, leaving The Boy to his fate among the more modern, money-obsessed world that is encroaching.
This was a pretty great movie. This was renowned German director F.W. Murnau's final movie. I've seen a few of his others - Nosferatu, The Last Laugh, and Sunrise - and Tabu was further proof that he was a genius of the dark tale told with brilliant cinematic skill. But while those other stories had more overtly dark tones, Tabu is told in the deceptively beautiful and alluring South Pacific Ocean. The first 15 minutes or so of the movie have much more of a documentary feel, which makes sense since Murnau was filming actual natives to that region's islands as they went about many of their daily lives. There are also many moments that are clearly staged and carefully composed, making for a more dreamlike atmosphere at times. This is, of course, wholly appropriate for a fable-like tale such as this one.
Being a silent film, it nearly all comes down to visual storytelling, and it's all right there. While the main actors - Matahi and Anne Chevalier - don't necessarily stand out, they convey the emotions that they need to, and Matahi in particular has a lean, athletic, confident carriage which makes for an engaging contrast to his naivete to the worldly vices found on their island refuge. More than the actors, the setting and Murnau's filming and editing of it makes this film something truly special. Even today, in 2020, there is a fantastic, dreamlike quality to it all. Though in black and white, we are seeing a way of life that is removed by not only geography but by time, and there is more than a little of paradise to be seen in it. This, of course, is what lends power to the darker forces which soon come into play in the tale. The lifelong isolation that The Girl is destined to live out, based on tribal codes. The devouring consumerism on the island to which The Boy and Girl retreat. The inescapable sense of crushing duty which The Girl feels. It all comes together exceptionally well.
I don't know that this is a movie that will win over those who have no interest in old, silent, black and white films. Still, it's a small time commitment, clocking in at just under 90 minutes. It's worth a shot, if you're curious. Those who do enjoy such older films would almost definitely appreciate it, as I did.
Set in Bora Bora roughly around the 1920s, Tabu tells the tale of a young native man (known only as "The Boy") who falls in love with the daughter of the island chief. The problem is that "The Girl" is meant to be a virginal idol, in keeping with the natives' traditional beliefs, and she will be kept in isolation from the eyes of any men. The Boy and Girl, wanting to be together, flee their home and sail to a more distant island, where Western people and more modern commerce and vice have taken a foothold. Though initially happy with their freedom, The Boy and Girl soon fall prey to darker forces. The Boy, though a skilled pearl diver, is oblivious to the greed and extortion inherent in some of those who seek to exploit him. Meanwhile, The Girl is gradually wracked by guilt for abandoning her tribe, despite the strict demands thrust upon her by her culture. She eventually decides to flee, leaving The Boy to his fate among the more modern, money-obsessed world that is encroaching.
This was a pretty great movie. This was renowned German director F.W. Murnau's final movie. I've seen a few of his others - Nosferatu, The Last Laugh, and Sunrise - and Tabu was further proof that he was a genius of the dark tale told with brilliant cinematic skill. But while those other stories had more overtly dark tones, Tabu is told in the deceptively beautiful and alluring South Pacific Ocean. The first 15 minutes or so of the movie have much more of a documentary feel, which makes sense since Murnau was filming actual natives to that region's islands as they went about many of their daily lives. There are also many moments that are clearly staged and carefully composed, making for a more dreamlike atmosphere at times. This is, of course, wholly appropriate for a fable-like tale such as this one.
Being a silent film, it nearly all comes down to visual storytelling, and it's all right there. While the main actors - Matahi and Anne Chevalier - don't necessarily stand out, they convey the emotions that they need to, and Matahi in particular has a lean, athletic, confident carriage which makes for an engaging contrast to his naivete to the worldly vices found on their island refuge. More than the actors, the setting and Murnau's filming and editing of it makes this film something truly special. Even today, in 2020, there is a fantastic, dreamlike quality to it all. Though in black and white, we are seeing a way of life that is removed by not only geography but by time, and there is more than a little of paradise to be seen in it. This, of course, is what lends power to the darker forces which soon come into play in the tale. The lifelong isolation that The Girl is destined to live out, based on tribal codes. The devouring consumerism on the island to which The Boy and Girl retreat. The inescapable sense of crushing duty which The Girl feels. It all comes together exceptionally well.
I don't know that this is a movie that will win over those who have no interest in old, silent, black and white films. Still, it's a small time commitment, clocking in at just under 90 minutes. It's worth a shot, if you're curious. Those who do enjoy such older films would almost definitely appreciate it, as I did.
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