The first film from famed Dutch documentary filmmaker Joris Ivens, made when he was just 13 years old, is a very simple Western tale of the kidnapping of a white child by a villainous Red Indian. It's little more than a home movie featuring Iven's family, but his use of panning shots at a time when most cameras were static is noticeable. Unfortunately, the jerkiness of the shots is more than a little distracting. It would be 17 years before Ivens made another film - and 77 years later when he made his last.
2 Reviews
A forgotten little masterpiece
ostia66613 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is quite interesting for several reasons; first of all, it was the first movie directed by the renowned documentarist Joris Ivens, whose career would expand for almost 80 years! (that is, from this point till the late 80's). Secondly, it is an early dutch film (which happens to be quite unusual given that its industry has never been very flourishing), and thirdly (and most importantly), it is a western!
Now, how unusual could that be? Not as much as we may believe a priori. Westerns were becoming increasingly popular amongst audiences all over the world, hence westerns production had tripled from 1909 to 1910. Important directors such as Edwin S. Porter, D.W. Griffith or 'Broncho Billy' would shoot them regularly. Not only that, but in France the locally produced series 'Riffle Bill' would become quite popular too and french directors Joë Hamman or Jean Durand would produce their own westerns as well. All this proves that Europeans had a taste for American themes and their cinematographies were getting americanized long before WWI.
That said, let's get straight to the plot's core. The action is supposed to take place in Canada. A farmer family is first introduced in a very theatrical way. The parents come back from a trip and distribute gifts among their children. A native American kid (what used to be called an 'Indian' back them) comes in begging for something but he's literally kicked outta the area. The boy gets back to his camp wherein he explains the situation. In revenge, 'Black Eage' kidnaps one of the family's white kids. Flaming Arrow, an Indian friend, is called in by the parents to retrieve their missing child.
Easy plot, written by Joris Ivens himself, who also plays the leading role. The rest of the cast includes members of his own family. This film loses the game when compared to American, Italian or Danish films produced at the time. Yet, it is very well filmed, many title cards explain the action quite well. The Flaming Arrow's character was probably taken from previous films or western novels from the 19th century. Anyway, I think at least one scene is missing at the beginning, but still the plot is understandable. This film is built on the classical Manichean American western stereotype, nevertheless, it works out very well, specially for a dutch film made in 1911! The pacing was good and so were the actors and the story. Thumbs up for this neglected little masterpiece.
Now, how unusual could that be? Not as much as we may believe a priori. Westerns were becoming increasingly popular amongst audiences all over the world, hence westerns production had tripled from 1909 to 1910. Important directors such as Edwin S. Porter, D.W. Griffith or 'Broncho Billy' would shoot them regularly. Not only that, but in France the locally produced series 'Riffle Bill' would become quite popular too and french directors Joë Hamman or Jean Durand would produce their own westerns as well. All this proves that Europeans had a taste for American themes and their cinematographies were getting americanized long before WWI.
That said, let's get straight to the plot's core. The action is supposed to take place in Canada. A farmer family is first introduced in a very theatrical way. The parents come back from a trip and distribute gifts among their children. A native American kid (what used to be called an 'Indian' back them) comes in begging for something but he's literally kicked outta the area. The boy gets back to his camp wherein he explains the situation. In revenge, 'Black Eage' kidnaps one of the family's white kids. Flaming Arrow, an Indian friend, is called in by the parents to retrieve their missing child.
Easy plot, written by Joris Ivens himself, who also plays the leading role. The rest of the cast includes members of his own family. This film loses the game when compared to American, Italian or Danish films produced at the time. Yet, it is very well filmed, many title cards explain the action quite well. The Flaming Arrow's character was probably taken from previous films or western novels from the 19th century. Anyway, I think at least one scene is missing at the beginning, but still the plot is understandable. This film is built on the classical Manichean American western stereotype, nevertheless, it works out very well, specially for a dutch film made in 1911! The pacing was good and so were the actors and the story. Thumbs up for this neglected little masterpiece.
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