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| Tabu | |||
"Tabu is a sun-drenched paean to unspoilt beauty, the story’s underlying tragedy only gradually casting its shadow. Murnau’s last film (he died in a car crash just before the premiere) was a reaction to disillusionment with Hollywood. He and the documentarist Robert Flaherty decided to make a fiction feature set in the South Pacific, using only local performers. Flaherty was sidelined when Murnau realised he had no talent for dramatic direction, though Floyd Crosby proved a far more valued colleague: his exquisite cinematography won a well-earned Oscar. Told almost entirely without intertitles (all onscreen text occurs naturally in the form of written messages, diaries and signs), Tabu is a tale of innocence corrupted both by tradition (the female lead Reri is declared sacred and therefore off-limits — or “taboo” — to everyone, including her lover Matahi) and by so-called civilisation. But the star-crossed Romeo-and-Juliet aspects play second fiddle to Murnau’s gloriously tangible recreation of a paradise lost, the images so fluid that one is barely aware of any cutting. – Michael Brooke, Sight & Sound "On an idyllic island paradise in the Bora Bora lagoon, young Matahi has fallen for the beautiful Reri. However, before he can claim her as his partner she is selected by Hitu, an elder from a neighbouring island, to fulfil the role of Sacred Virgin, a symbol of all that is pure and honourable in their people. A decree is issued proclaiming that no man may touch her or cast his eye on her in desire: “Sacred is Reri. From this time forth she is tabu. To break this tabu means death.” Unwilling to oppose the law of their people, both Matahi and Reri are distraught, but soon after Reri is taken by Hitu she is abducted by Matahi, and the two flee to another island to start a new life together there. But this island is under the control of the white man, and although Matahi soon finds work as a skilled pearl diver, he has no understanding of the concept of monetary trade, and Hitu has no intention of just letting Reri walk away from her sacred duty…. Tabu remains extraordinary cinema that in retrospect feels years ahead of its time, playing less like a silent movie than a film in which the director has freely chosen to tell its story purely through imagery and music. The photography is gorgeous, the performances disarmingly naturalistic and the editing as tight and purposeful as anything you’ll find in modern cinema. Best of all, most important of all, is its effectiveness as drama, a compellingly told and genuinely moving story that boasts a wealth of allegorical depth and a deeply human heart." – dvdoutsider.co.uk Presented in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut. |
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| USA 1931 | |||
Director: F.W. Murnau With: Matahi (the Boy), Reri (the Girl), Jean (the Policeman), Hitu (the Old Warrior) 81 mins, 35mm (1,37:1), black and white Auckland Film Society |
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