Search - Black Robe on DVD

An antidote for the neo-romanticism of the AmerIndian

Mark Snegg | 06/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Black Robe" is based on a novel of the same title written by the late Brian Moore, who also wrote the film's screenplay. Moore's idea for the plot of his novel and most of the details he used within it came from the Jesuit Relations- a 17th century chronicle of the day to day events of the North American mission of the Society of Jesus. While the Relations' main purpose was to describe successful conversions, miracles, and battles fought against Satan, they are also one of the most important historical records of the lives and customs of many American Indian tribes.The Jesuits presented a wonderful depiction of the people they were trying to convert. Some of the stories are very funny- one Algonquin hired by the Jesuits to be a translator was asked by his employers for the Algonquin words relating to spiritual and religious topics. The translator instructed them and the Jesuits rushed off to preach to the Algonquins. It was only upon being greeted by the peeling laughter of their would-be converts did the Jesuits realize that their translator had instead instructed them on Algonquin foul language.However, the Relations also depict a very grim picture of life in the mid 17th century wilderness. Contrary to what another reviewer has written here- adoption was not guaranteed for anyone! Yes, mass adoption later become something the Iroquois practiced, but only after their numbers had been so badly dwindled in their wars of conquest in the 1650-1670's. Women, children, and the elderly could be hideously tortured to death as well as men. The movie, in fact, was edited to avoid showing the Indians practicing ritual cannibalism on that slain boy- a custom that was common among the tribes of Eastern woodlands. To devour an enemy's flesh was to devour his power. The heart of a particularly brave enemy (such as the Jesuit martyr St. Jean Brebeuf) would be eaten by chiefs.Also in the 17th century, the gauntlet was not the only ordeal for a male prisoner captured alive. If captured a male prisoner would usually have his hands mutiliated in some way- finger joints cut off by either cutting (sometimes with sea shells as shown in the movie) or by biting. Why? A warrior without the use of his fingers was useless- could not pull a bowstring or grasp a knife.One could say that the Jesuits were biased in their desire to portray the Indians as savages and thus justify their conversion. However, the Relations are reknowned for their candor and there are too many other sources that describe women and children captives being summarily executed for little or no reason. (The famed voyageur and explorer Pierre Esprit Radisson in his autobiography "Voyages" saw with his own eyes- children and women being tortured to death by the Mohawks.)The Algonquin bands of hunter/gatherers, with whom the French Jesuits made first contact, lived a mean existence by any standard. Theirs was a society that was utterly "christian" in that they shared everything, but also one that could not tolerate those who fell sick or lame. These unfortunates would just be abandoned. Life was hard enough for those healthy and fit. Also, living in a birchbark tent with almost no ventilation for smoke, zero privacy, a bunch of dogs, and lots of unwashed bodies was probably a much, much nastier place than what was shown in the film. (The meanness of these living conditions must have have been very tough on many members of the Society of Jesus because a lot of them came from families of great wealth and privilege.)"Black Robe," the novel and the film, were meant to be an antidote to the current romancization of the AmerIndians. In recent decades we've taken one myth about the AmerIndians, that of the blood thirsty savage, and replaced it with another, the new age Eagle scout with a bent for ecology. "Black Robe" attempts to hit a middle ground- showing these people as humans who lived in a culture that was governed by different values than our own. They are shown as intelligent and brave, but also as greedy and very cruel. That Europe was awash with blood at the same time is beside the point. Brian Moore was trying to show that North America was never a Garden of Eden- people here still treated people different from themselves very cruelly.As mentioned above, Moore actually held back in the screenplay certain elements of Algonquin life that could be found in his novel. Their everyday language was peppered by words that we would call vulgar- but to them it them it was just talking. They allowed promiscuity among unmarried young men and women- a fact that was found very enticing by French laymen, but scandalized the priests.I don't think this movie is some sort of "propaganda" to perpetuate negative stereotypes on AmerIndians. I do think it is an honest attempt to show that these people were human beings whose lives were governed by the harshness of their surroundings. For an Algonquin band of hunter/gatherers living along the St. Lawrence, life truly was a survival of the fittest. Brian Moore simply held up a picture of the cruelty and difficulty of this existence, if some neo-romanticists don't like what they see then so be it."

The Forgotten Art Of Trusting A Film To Truly TELL A Story

Goodbye Cruel World | Under Your Skin | 01/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Black Robe is a lush, incredibly deep, strikingly emotive motion picture, that tells the story of a young Jesuit priest's journey across the dense wilderness of seventeenth-century Quebec, undertaken while he simultaneously experiences a transformative test of his commitment to the stark way of life he has chosen. Which holds the greatest desire for him, a beckoning existence of ease and comfort amid relatives back in France; the possibility of earthly love; or service to God, that almost certainly includes a violent martyrdom?

Guided by his nation's Algonquin allies, the determined, idealistic young man of a privileged caste seeks to take up his assignment at a mission on the edge of "New France's" colonial frontier. As this decidedly quiet and cerebral epic unfolds, a journey of spiritual evolution takes this priest and his small band through numerous personal tests and into the face of many dangers, not merely from the unwelcoming savagery of the landscape itself, but from hostile aboriginals who welcome neither the Algonquians nor the European intruder into their homeland. What begins amid the opulence of Bourbon France becomes bluntly visceral with unsparing depictions of torture, bloodlust, rape, and death, and yet the way in which this tale is left to carry itself toward its most unforeseen climax is absolutely courageous.

There are too many noteworthy performances to list here, and any written description of the scenery within this film would fall flat. With its countless tiny moments that contrast cultures (Algonquians thinking the Frenchmen's' mechanical clock was somehow their king, since they lived by its motions) for the alternating bravery, sadism, devotions and loyalty of those characters within it, for its terrific story, and for its end to end flawless quality, I truly think Black Robe is among the greatest films shot in the 1990's, and might just be at the top of its particular genre."