Ten Canoes

Anthropologists and scholars specializing in the oral transmission of stories in preliterate societies will find this Australian film from directors Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr to be of enormous interest, but Ten Canoes will also entertain general audiences. Jovially narrated by Aborigine storyteller David Gulpilil, the film attempts to mimic—in cinematic terms—the experience of listening to a tale that might have been told around a tribal campfire a thousand years ago. The narrative is split into two alternating parts: in the first, shot in black-and-white, tribal members embark on a canoe expedition to collect goose eggs in the swamp, during which the leader tells his unwed younger brother—who is attracted to the youngest of the leader's wives—the story of an ancient ancestor similarly drawn to his sibling's lovely spouse. That account, which involves war, death, and desire, as well as a properly instructive moral (and features some amusing secondary characters, such as an old man addicted to honey), is presented in color. Remarkably authentic, both in its visual presentation of village life and its verbal storytelling (much of the dialogue is spoken in an Aboriginal language), Ten Canoes magically transports viewers to a distant era that feels utterly alien in external respects but strangely familiar in emotional ones, presenting a film that is as distinctive as Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, though far less grim and violent. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include an hour-long “making of” documentary, interviews with the filmmakers, a photo gallery, a map, and a study guide. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning film.] (F. Swietek)