Black Robe (1991)

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers (WGA):

Brian Moore (novel)
Brian Moore (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 October 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History

Plot:

In the 17th century a Jesuit priest and a young companion are escorted through the wilderness of Quebec...

Plot Keywords:

Historical | Native American | Religion | 1600s | Jesuit Priest

Awards:

10 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Lothaire Bluteau	...	Father Laforgue
Aden Young	...	Daniel
Sandrine Holt	...	Annuka
August Schellenberg	...	Chomina
Tantoo Cardinal	...	Chomina's Wife
Billy Two Rivers	...	Ougebmat
Lawrence Bayne	...	Neehatin
Harrison Liu	...	Awondoie
Wesley Cote	...	Oujita
Frank Wilson	...	Father Jerome
François Tassé	...	Father Bourque
Jean Brousseau	...	Champlain
Yvan Labelle	...	Mestigoit
Raoul Trujillo	...	Kiotseaton
James Bobbish	...	Ondesson

Also Known As:

Robe noire (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

101 min | Germany:97 min

Country:

Canada | Australia

Language:

English | Cree | English | Mohawk | Algonquin | Latin

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | UK:15 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Germany:12 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Saguenay Region, Québec, Canada

Company:

Alliance Communications Corporation

Trivia:

It took over four years to find financing for the film. No American studio was interested in doing it because it was about religion, so eventually the finance was drummed up from European and Canadian sources. Even with Oscar nominee Bruce Beresford expressing a desire to be at the helm, the Canadian investors were still very hard to convince. Until Beresford's film Driving Miss Daisy (1989) scooped the 1989 Oscar for Best Film. The success of "Dances with Wolves" was also instrumental in helping the film to get made.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one of the flashbacks to France, Father Laforgue's mother says she is praying to St. Joan. However, Joan of Arc was not canonized until 1920.

Quotes:

Chomina: If we had kept our promise to Champlain, there would be no problem.
Ougebmat: Promise? For axes, pots, and flints? Not even one musket.
Chomina: But we accepted their gifts! We have come to need them. This is our undoing - and it will be our ending.
Mestigoit: They are not gifts. There are no gifts given by the French that aren't paid for.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Lonely Passion of Brian Moore (1986)

I was truly haunted by this film

I noted that this movie was being compared to Dances with Wolves and Last of the Mohicans,aside from the fact that they all three involved native Americans there is little comparison.Windwalker would be a better comparison. This movie is more about this character who is being driven by a fierce passion to save a people and culture he doesn't understand and doesn't want to. It's Man vs. Nature. God vs. Nature. It draws a far more fierce and savage picture of Native Americans than most films dare to in an effort to stay PC which sometimes means pretending a victim or minority is without fault. This character,this "Black Robe",is most certainly flawed, but his courage in the face of savagery is inspiring. Also the native Americans in this film seem far more human and less a Hollywood caricature of native Americans. I plead with every movie lover out there SEE THIS FILM. I felt I was truly transported back in time. So, if you are avoiding this film because you hated Dances with Wolves and fell asleep every time you tried to watch Last of the Mohicans, try this film instead.