Banda, The Dark Forgotten Trail (2017)
A documentary about the illustrious history of spice trade in Banda East Indonesia.
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Reviews
Such a frustrating disappointment
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
This is the best medium for a history lecture, ever.In a very visually-appealing and engaging way, this documentary movie takes the perspectives of historians and key people with first-hand experiences related to Banda Island (in the Moluccas) to tell a story about how the island had experienced glory, got through colonialism, became a site where respected figures and people from across Indonesia were exiled, resulting in probably (once) the most multi-cultural island in Indonesia. It also tells the current condition and hopes for Banda.Definitely a high-quality must-watch. Well done, Jay Subiyakto and team!
The documentary movie "Banda: The Dark Forgotten Trail" is visually stunning in parts but a narrative mess with disjointed clips telling several stories without a coherent structure. The director's visual self indulgence is unrestrained ("I let the six DoPs shoot any scenes they wanted") and this buries the narrative rhythm and suffocates any dramatic development of a story. A study of uncontrolled excess and style over substance.