Black Robe (1991)

People are voting emotionally.

Excellent but underrated film

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It's 1634 Quebec. LaForgue (Lothaire Bluteau) is a Jesuit which the natives call Black Robe. He and young Daniel (Aden Young) are sent on a dangerous journey by Champlain to the distant mission with the Hurons. They are guided by a group of Algonquin Indians led by Chomina (August Schellenberg). Daniel falls for Chomina's daughter Annuka (Sandrine Holt). Simple things like a clock and writing seems to be magic for the natives and they suspect Black Robe is a demon.There is great realism in this movie. The characters are human and complex. There is confusion and lots of misunderstandings. It's a no nonsense take on the grim early interactions. Both sides are doing what they perceive to be right but the clash of cultures is too much. The acting is superb especially from August Schellenberg. The locations are grand and they have a brooding danger about them. The wilderness takes the movie and never lets it go.

a film who escape from classic formulas. and the result is a honest image about Amerindians and Europeans and their relationship. the heart of this relation - the profound solitude who defines the Jesuit priest who believes in his mission in few moments more than in God and the natives Canadians for who the danger against their life style is ambiguous. clash of civilizations, it is one of the most touching and clever films about this theme. Lothaire Bluteau does a splendid role, exploring the vulnerability and the faith, the need to help the other and the conscience of sacrifice. the images are amazing. the mixture of sex, violence, pieces from old religion is more than beautiful or convincing. but the great virtue is the precise courage to give a honest portrait of the characters.

Interesting drama, set in 17th century Canada. Plot is solid, though takes a while to develop. After a point, however, it becomes a good adventure/survival story. Obviously many of the points the director Bruce Beresford and writer of the book and screenplay, Brian Moore, wanted to make with the movie are the effects of religion, and its messengers, on the unconverted masses it comes into contact with. This is done reasonably well, and some of the reactions of the natives are quite interesting, and very plausible. However, the ultimate conclusion is a bit unsatisfactory, and overly simplistic.Decent performances, though none stand out.

'The English and the Dutch have colonists, we have priests' we hear a French militia man saying in the beginning of the film set sometime in 1630s at a French outpost somewhere in Quebec, Canada. The priest who is seen walking past the militiamen and construction workers is father Laforgue (played by Lothaire Bluteau; a great performance). Laforgue is a young Jesuit sent from France to the New World to convert the Hurons and other indigenous tribes that lived once in large areas of Canada and the northern states of the US.To aid Laforgue in his mission the local French authorities ask a group of Hurons (allies of the French at the time) to accompany him until he reaches a Jesuit-controlled mission much deeper in Quebec. During the trip of the group we see past moments of the life that Laforgue left behind in France (through a number of flashbacks) before deciding to commit himself to such a task in the New World. The trip is dangerous. We learn that except the actual hardships of the trip the Hurons will try to avoid the Iroquois (at least other tribes of the Iroquois nation, since the Hurons were part of the great Iroquois nation) and the English who have started to become more powerful than the French in the region.Soon, however, friction begins. For the Hurons (a traditional pagan society with Shamans acting as the intermediaries with the spirits) the Christian message of Laforgue 'love your neighbor' will mean certain death to the hands of the Iroquois. Therefore, they view father Laforgue with suspicion, even hatred after a while believing that he is a demon (especially after he demonstrates to them the reading of a book, a fact that unsettles them) and they start to wonder if it is worthwhile to risk too much for a person who promises them a paradise in an afterlife after death.'Black Robe' is a very interesting film but I think it is not for everyone. To start with it is not entertaining, it is not epic. There is no 'payback' for this mission that Laforgue undertakes. Despite the idyllic scenery of the New World the trip is very hard and demanding and the eventual conflict with the Iroquois is very harsh. Laforgue, nonetheless is a brave man and perseveres. His conviction to introduce Christianity to the Hurons and convert them is too strong and gives him the courage to go on. The question is if it was worthwhile. The movie cleverly avoids taking sides on this matter. I believe this is the big question that the movie asks and there is no easy answer. A 9/10 from me.