Black Robe

This is a very moving film about the clash of two radically different cultures. The young Jesuit priest, Father LaForgue, although very rigid in his belief system, sincerely wants to help the Native Americans by bringing them the Truth. But his message of paradise has no meaning for the Alogonquins, Hurons, and other tribes that he comes into contact with. They cannot understand why he has no woman. They fear him as a demon because he reads from books and makes strange signs (of the cross). He, in turn, believes they are living in darkness and must be saved. He is fearful of the vast forests where the devil reigns. There is a great deal of complexity in the character of Chomina, the Algonquin leader who fears the Black Robe but who feels honor bound to assist him. Father LaForgue is a tragic figure, so lonely and confused in the vast expanses of 'New France'. Why is he here, so far from his mother's comfortable drawing rooms? What does he hope to accomplish? The film is beautifully shot on location. A warning to the faint-hearted: there are some gruesome scenes in the film. Black Robe is a moving, balanced film with a profound spirituality.

There are remarkably few historical movies which give you the feeling of actually being in another time and place. In almost all costume dramas, however accurate the costumes and sets may be, the characters think, speak and act like people of the present day. The issues are modern issues, and the movies are colored by modern political correctness, and by romanticized and simplified views of the past.

Black Robe is a movie that makes you feel "this is how things really were." It shows both Native Americans and European settlers honestly in all their humanity and complexity. But the issues are 17th century issues, not 21st century issues. The movie is not self-concious, or preachy, or pushing a particular agenda. It's just telling a good story, and telling it very well.

This is perhaps the best and most accurate portrayal of Native Americans in any movie ever. They are shown neither as noble, politically correct, ecologically sound, wise heroes, nor as racist caricatures. They are shown as real people, and as individuals with their own personal concerns and opinions. There is no glossing over harsh living conditions, violence, brutality, torture, and superstition. But honor, loyalty, love, and closeness to nature are just as vividly present as are doubt, deception, self-interest, and cruelty.

The French are likewise shown in a real, accurate and believable way. The narrow-mindedness of the Jesuits and their perverse desire for martyrdom are shown along with their deep sincerity and courage. Colonial attitudes and the overwhelming role of religion in 17th century culture are there, but the characters are never caricatures. Neither European nor Native American religions are denigrated, but both are shown to have their flaws as well as their values.

The role of solemn ceremony in both cultures is vividly shown in some of the opening scenes an aspect of life which has almost disappeared in today's world. There is a feeling of vast distances, and slow, hard travel into the unknown which is likewise missing in our modern world of fast transportation and globalization. We get a sense of the smallness of human beings compared to the vast forests, mountains, and rivers of 17th century North America.

Highly recommended.

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Black Robe is a lush, incredibly deep, strikingly emotive motion picture, that tells the story of a young Jesuit priest's journey across the dense wilderness of seventeenth-century Quebec, undertaken while he simultaneously experiences a transformative test of his commitment to the stark way of life he has chosen. Which holds the greatest desire for him, a beckoning existence of ease and comfort amid relatives back in France; the possibility of earthly love; or service to God, that almost certainly includes a violent martyrdom?

Guided by his nation's Algonquin allies, the determined, idealistic young man of a privileged caste seeks to take up his assignment at a mission on the edge of "New France's" colonial frontier. As this decidedly quiet and cerebral epic unfolds, a journey of spiritual evolution takes this priest and his small band through numerous personal tests and into the face of many dangers, not merely from the unwelcoming savagery of the landscape itself, but from hostile aboriginals who welcome neither the Algonquians nor the European intruder into their homeland. What begins amid the opulence of Bourbon France becomes bluntly visceral with unsparing depictions of torture, bloodlust, rape, and death, and yet the way in which this tale is left to carry itself toward its most unforeseen climax is absolutely courageous.

There are too many noteworthy performances to list here, and any written description of the scenery within this film would fall flat. With its countless tiny moments that contrast cultures (Algonquians thinking the Frenchmen's' mechanical clock was somehow their king, since they lived by its motions) for the alternating bravery, sadism, devotions and loyalty of those characters within it, for its terrific story, and for its end to end flawless quality, I truly think Black Robe is among the greatest films shot in the 1990's, and might just be at the top of its particular genre.

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After watching and rewatching "Black Robe," I could not believe this film was more favorably received. Critics seem to have liked it. I never saw it released in Chicago or San Diego. How could such a masterpiece be buried? Bruce Beresford is an excellent director. Oddly enough "Driving Miss Daisy," the film most have seen and won a few Academy Awards pales in comparission to his previous films like "Breaker Morant," possibly the best courtroom drama ever made. Then Beresford brings out "Black Robe," a movie that takes a totally fresh vison of the American Indian. The acting is flawless. The French and the Indians, thrown togther, literally perceive different worlds and religions. The late Brian Moore, the author of the novel, wrote the screenplay, and he spares us very little of the harsh world view, the harrowing survival in the wilderness, the myth of the "Noble Savage," the realization of just how hard it was to make a colony foothold in the New World. You get the feeling, after watching this film, that there was no foothold, that the wilderness wins, and no religion or superstition can prevail under such conditions. Man, whether French colonist or Indian, when confronted with such hardships, rarely conquers the land. And what a glorious picture of Native Americans. Never has a movie given such a vivid, balanced picture of Indian life and attitudes. It is all about ambiguity. Good Redman? Bad Redman? We see examples of kindness and brutality on both sides. Few films can create and transport one into an entire new world and this is what Beresford has accomplished. In the wake of the so-called "realistic" portrayal of the Native Americans in "Dances With Wolves," "Black Robe" jumps light years ahead. "Black Robe" leaves most movie Indian portraits in its wake. How Beresford did this is a mystery. He avoids almost all cliches from previous movies and we see, brilliantly, his vision, a stark, brutal vision of what it was like to be alive in the 17th century wilderness. And what a beautiful wilderness, and as the winter sets in, one can feel the chill in the bones. The tent scenes are incredible, mixing humor, sex, and bewilderment on the part of the priest, who at first thinks he is in complete control and will save these "savages." In the end of this great movie, the young priest seems to have been converted partly to the superstitions that he previously condemned. His fearfully walks in the snow and ice, showing the landscape in a different light. Is nature really cruel? Or is it just man's perceptions? Is this where faith comes in, to face such hardships? That Berseford can squeeze questions such as these into an unflinching adventure flim is a triumph of a master film maker. Many moviegoers want to escape to an ideal world, with happy endings. "Black Robe," although not ending happily, presents us with a greater truth, a truth that will make us stronger for experiencing the vision unfolding before us. "Black Robe is one of the greatest historical dramas ever filmed.

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When I first saw this movie at the theatres more than 10 years ago, it made a profound impact on me. As I now have it my DVD library, I can watch this movie over and over again. Portraying a Jesuit priest's 1500 mile journey through the Canadian wilderness in the early 1600's, it is a story of God and demons, human relations, and our view of other cultures. It gives a wonderful insight into the minds of the Jesuits, how Europe came to conquer the "savages" and "save them" from their false believes. The filming is wonderful, the landscape and scenery stunning, and the performances very good. The movie does not wear silk gloves the harsh reality of the wilderness is showed in its true and brutal form. Here, only the strong survive, and you cannot be sure that God will save you. One of the best movies of the 90's, and a great preference over Dances with wolves.