54. Tabu (1931)

Directed By F. W. Murnau

Synopsis

Boy meets girl. Girl is made holy and therefore Tabu for all the sexy bits. They elope. Being chased by old man tabu enforcer guy. Girl leaves boy so he doesn't have to die because of tabu breaking. Boy meets death at sea chasing the boat that will take girl to her death penalty. The End.

Review

This is Murnau's last film, in fact he died before it came out. There is the hand of another guy in this film, it is co-scripted by Flaherty of Nanook of the North fame, and you can tell this because of the attempt of documentary style authenticity in what is essentially a typical tragic love story.

Murnau never disappoints and here he brings a light and beauty to his film, which wasn't seen in many of his earlier works. But the darkness is very much still there, Murnau never made feelgood movies, this one follows that rule, but it is very, very pretty.

Again Murnau uses the camera excellently, there's a lot of underwater filming, and there's even a shark fight, which a shark that actually looks real, not Jaws... Just as in Psycho's shower scene much later there is actually no stabbing of the shark or any direct contact, but the montage gives you that illusion. Murnau was leagues ahead of his time, in everything but the use of voice. But this is a case of the film that wins by not having the distraction of voice, firstly most of the cast are either Tahiti islanders or Chinese, which would make the language barrier a problem in a talkie, and Murnau was always about what you see, and the landscape and people take more of a center stage without sound.

Buy it from Amazon UK or US.

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia


An excerpt from Murnau's 1926 Faust, which is not on the list, but should have been, could easily kick out Phantom of The Opera or yet another tedious Griffith film:




From Wikipedia:

Tapu (or tabu) is a concept existing in many Polynesian societies, including traditional Māori, and Tongan cultures. It reflects something that is holy or sacred. The cognate word in the Hawaiian language culture is kapu .

In Māori and Tongan tradition, something that is tapu (Māori) or tabu (Tongan) is considered inviolable or sacrosanct due to its sacredness. Things or places which are tapu must be left alone, and may not be approached or interfered with. In some cases, they should not even be spoken of. In Māori society the concept was often used by tohunga (priests) to protect resources from over-exploitation, by declaring a fishery or other resource as tapu. The English word "taboo" derives from this usage, and was adopted by Captain James Cook during his visit to Tonga in 1777.