Tabu: A Story of the South Seas.

Review #1335: Tabu: A Story of the South Seas.

Cast: 
Matahi (The Boy), Anne Chevalier (The Girl), Bill Bambridge (The Policeman), and Hitu (The Old Warrior) Directed by F.W. Murnau (#256 - Nosferatu and #499 - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans)

Review: 
It should only make sense that F. W. Murnau would be behind one of the last great films of the silent era. He had directed twenty films (with eight now being lost) since beginning his career at the age of 31 in 1919 with Der Knabe in Blau (The Boy in Blue), having survived numerous plane crashes and being a prisoner of war during his time in World War I for the German Empire. He had grown up inspired by the works of Nietzche and William Shakespeare, viewing the cinema as an art form for the director to sketch with his camera, which he used to great effect with films such as Der letzte Mann (The Last Laugh) from 1924, which eschewed using multiple intertitles to try and help its story, or his film based on the German legend Faust in 1926 - his last German work before migrating to the United States. He had made two further films for Fox Film after the memorable Sunrise with Four Devils and City Girl, which did not prove successful. Similarly dissatisfied with the film studios over his vision was Robert J. Flaherty. He had began his career with the seminal Nanook of the North (1922), with his next feature being the first docufiction film with Moana (1926). However, he had gotten into disagreements with MGM over his meticulous way of shooting when doing White Shadows in the South Seas (1928), which led him to quitting production. The two had a common acquaintance in Flaherty's brother, and Murnau's desire to make a film in Tahiti combined with Flaherty's connection to natives led to a story written by the two for a film. By 1929, they had gotten started in location scouting and wound up with their lead actress in a cocktail bar. They had intended to receive funds to produce from a small company, but delayed transactions led to Murnau deciding to fund it himself. The following year, they had began production, with Flaherty filming the opening scene before technical issues led to Floyd Crosby being brought in to help shoot the film. These three were the only professionals on the film, with everyone else from the cast to the crew being natives (trained by Murnau). The changes made to the script to incorporate a love story did not please Flaherty, who spent most of his time developing the film in a lab, perceiving Murnau as arrogant and selfish. The film was made over the span of ten months before eventually being signed for a deal of distribution with Paramount Pictures for March 18, 1931. Tragically, Murnau would not survive to see the film premiere, having died in a car accident the week before. The film did not prove to be a success, although Crosby would win an Academy Award for his cinematography work; the film managed to survive despite World War II destroying the original negative, and time has helped the film's reputation as a fascinating silent piece that almost plays like poetry.

One does not have to wait long to see its hypnotic power take affect. It manages to tell a concise 84 minute tale on the power of its images (and occasionally translated messages) without needing to use overblown theatrics or sentiment to get its tragedy the right kind of meaning. One wonders what Murnau would have done when it came to direction if he had survived further in the sound era, really. Its tale of romance that falls prey to the demands of others and fate trying to deny them is a familiar one that can be said in any decade, which most certainly can make for great entertainment, or at least ones that are moving enough to inspire curiosity. This does fine in that sense because of its craftsmanship. Matahi and Chevalier certainly make the most of it, being figures for Murnau to mold for effect to where we see clear chemistry between them throughout the two chapters (fittingly named "Paradise" and "Paradise Lost"). Hitu rounds out the small cast with an imposing nature through old eyes that sell the dangers of forbidden love trying to persist over superstition. One doesn't need to have a complete understanding of the culture the film tries to depict to find themselves absorbed by what they are seeing, where patience does not wear thin or lead to much frustration. By the time the film gets to its tragic but swift ending in the seas, the film has sealed itself as a fascinating finishing point for an era where music and images took precedent over voice. On the whole, while it isn't quite as striking in every composition as his other works, Murnau manages to create a lasting great piece to sadly close out a career on with this film, a mesh of drama with his flourishes in camera combining with a depiction of people from another culture to make a useful curiosity piece that you should check out for yourself.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.