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Post by kissmekate on May 15, 2011 9:50:49 GMT
I thought it was interesting that Bill Bennett said in his interview that Mick exploited the natives. I disagree. I may have my Rufus tinted glasses on again here, but tome he's a trader. He does what traders do and trades stuff they want for what he wants. He gives them whatever they ask for. I'm with you on that, Nell! I found the relationship between Mick and the natives quite balanced. They seemed to accept him without a grudge and he never appeared patronizing or anything like that. Looked like good team work to me. |
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Post by stama on May 15, 2011 13:44:05 GMT
Rufus gives another great performance. Even his stance speaks a thousand words. He can convey more in the flicker of an eye -lid than many actors can convey with their whole being. I agree Nell, Rufus is one of a few actors who don´t need to talk, he just IS. |
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Post by robela on May 15, 2011 13:56:41 GMT
All in all this movie has joined my joint 3 position of favourites. So agree with all you say Nell! I have watched this movie several times now and each times it moves me more. It is a truly wonderful, beautiful movie, probably underrated as I had never heard of it before I joined The Rooftop and became more aware of all Rufus' work. I wish he would make more films like this and allow himself to play the romantic 'good guy'. |
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Post by nell on May 15, 2011 15:39:15 GMT
All in all this movie has joined my joint 3 position of favourites. So agree with all you say Nell! I have watched this movie several times now and each times it moves me more. It is a truly wonderful, beautiful movie, probably underrated as I had never heard of it before I joined The Rooftop and became more aware of all Rufus' work. I wish he would make more films like this and allow himself to play the romantic 'good guy'. I think he would if it was a decent film and it was offered to him Robela. I once read that he'd said he was quite proud of this film and rightly so too ! |
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Post by joyceinva on May 15, 2011 21:28:05 GMT
I agree completely that Mick wasn't exploiting the natives. It was good old fashioned capitalism at work. He gave them what they wanted for the pearls - they had a barter system, what good would money have done them? Mick got away with giving as little as he could for the goods he wanted. If another trader had appeared on the scene, then yes, Mick would have upped what he was willing to trade.
Mick hit it right on the head when he accused Philip and Evelyn of being the ones exploiting the natives. They were going around, taking pictures, interviewing them about their deeply held beliefs all for the books that would make THEM famous.
Was anyone else kind of ambigious about their feelings about Evelyn in the beginning of the movie? To me, she wasn't that much better than Philip. Taking pictures of the chief's daughter while she was having sex - I'm sure Evelyn would have been horrified if she knew that the native children were watching her and Philip have sex, but she can take picutes of something so intimate?
Then there was the way she complained about the missionary trying to change the culture by giving the natives western clothes and interfering in the burial rites - but when the chief's daughter went to commit suicide, she wanted/tried to interfere. Because that was a custom she disapproved of.
I think I only started liking her when she left Philip, when she started to think and act independently.
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Post by kissmekate on May 16, 2011 7:48:54 GMT
Exactly!
I didn't see Evelyn as negatively in the beginning, but I was also rather disappointed when she took the photos of the couple making love. I would have thought her a bit more sensitive than that.
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Post by joyceinva on May 17, 2011 2:25:17 GMT
I didn't see Evelyn as negatively in the beginning, but I was also rather disappointed when she took the photos of the couple making love. I would have thought her a bit more sensitive than that. Yes, I think of her at this point still being under the influence of Philip. It was seeing Mick interact with the natives, treating them with respect and dealing with them as equals that opened her eyes. |
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Post by kissmekate on May 17, 2011 8:26:03 GMT
Yes, I think of her at this point still being under the influence of Philip. It was seeing Mick interact with the natives, treating them with respect and dealing with them as equals that opened her eyes. Absolutely. When she took the photos, she was still trying to compete with Philip. Maybe she even thought that would impress him. I re-watched the film last night - Philip's arrogance gets more unbearable with every time I watch. He thinks he's superior to everyone, the natives, his wife, Mick ... This time I didn't cry at the grave bit but, funnily, when they were dancing. This is such a beautiful, intimate, tender scene that it literally moved me to tears. |
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Post by robela on May 17, 2011 10:49:30 GMT
This time I didn't cry at the grave bit but, funnily, when they were dancing. This is such a beautiful, intimate, tender scene that it literally moved me to tears. So agree with all you say Kate, but especially this bit. So beautiful, the music, the dancing, the intimacy. Brings tears to my eyes every time. I Love This Film,  |
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Post by VictoryGirl on May 17, 2011 13:05:47 GMT
Movies like "In A Savage Land" are my favourites. Love it!
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Post by Petruchio - Good God on May 17, 2011 13:23:07 GMT
Yep !!! totally agree !!! |
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Post by rueful on May 17, 2011 14:49:30 GMT
I didn't see Evelyn as negatively in the beginning, but I was also rather disappointed when she took the photos of the couple making love. I would have thought her a bit more sensitive than that. Yes, I think of her at this point still being under the influence of Philip. It was seeing Mick interact with the natives, treating them with respect and dealing with them as equals that opened her eyes. I agree. I thought her time in the "cage" was not just mourning for Philip but an atonement for her original attitudes and feeling of superiority. She was acknowledging and embracing the value of their rituals and society. Her growth over the course of the movie is one reason I love it so, and Maya Stange did a beautiful job. Excellent, excellent film. I wish more people knew of it. |
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Post by kissmekate on May 17, 2011 15:09:55 GMT
Her growth over the course of the movie is one reason I love it so, and Maya Stange did a beautiful job. Excellent, excellent film. I wish more people knew of it. Me too. Such a beautiful, touching film without any kitsch. I've even been wondering if she pursued her career any further beyond the book she wrote. Somehow I cannot really see her going on with this very "Western" kind of profession, studying peoples' behaviour and traditions as if they were some kind of exotic animals. I can imagine she may have wanted to do something really useful instead. |
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Post by rueful on May 17, 2011 17:24:55 GMT
Good point. I've wondered too. I know there is little chance of a sequel, but I cared about the characters so much that I would have loved to know what happened to them.
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Post by kissmekate on May 17, 2011 19:14:07 GMT
Me too. I guess I've never watched a film that kept me thinking on and on and on about what might have happened after its end. Mick is such a fine man, and Evelyn grew on me more and more as her character developed, and I just wish the golden ring's prophecy somehow came true for them. (In my happy little personal universe, it did at any rate!)
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