"Ten Canoes" resembles a National Geographic documentary with dramatic overtones and is sometimes hard to follow due to the thick accent of the narrator but it's nevertheless absorbing due in part to its very oddness, being a story about aboriginal Australians (though written, directed and shot by a Caucasian team headed by director Rolf de Heer). Structurally it is a story within a story about a how a tribe in the pre-colonial period handled the sudden disappearance of one of its female members. The story allows de Heer to illustrate how members of this primitive community were not so very different from ourselves in their essential human characteristics. The mere placement of a group of naked, primitive people as central characters in a fictional motion picture drama is, to Western eyes, enough to command the attention. The more or less constant narration tends to hinder dramatic development so that we never connect deeply with any of the characters yet we empathize with their predicaments. Generally speaking, it paints a sympathetic picture of a people whom fate has brutalized and who now are only beginning to recover and get back a sense of who they are and what they come from, in part through films like this one.
42 Reviews
A wry gem of a film that translates our contemporary values....
movedout6 May 2007
Australia's 2007 Oscar entry is a wry gem of a film that translates our contemporary values schema into a morality play set a thousand years ago in an indigenous tribe settlement somewhere near the Arafura Swamp in Australia's Northern Territory. Iconic Aborigine actor David Gulpilil (of "Walkabout" and "The Last Wave" fame) eloquently and drolly orates the film's triple narrative of native Australian lore that concerns itself with coveting, revenge, sorcery and even a dash of penis envy. Remarkable in its scope and mesmerising in its photography, director Rolf de Heer's idiosyncratic fascination with the interaction of human nature against nature is condensed into a simple but effective lesson of history repeating itself. Possibly venturing to rail against critics of the noble savagery belonging to the Aborigines, "Ten Canoes" allow us the positive enlightenment that comes from observing a different and alien culture operate on levels familiar to us.
A novelty for locals, a rare bird for everyone else.
jobling19 March 2006
Rolf de Heer's film premiered as part of the Adelaide Festival with sound problems dogging the otherwise pristine print. The film looks great, and the narration with David Gulpilil is too important to miss, obviously, as I found it very difficult to keep up with the extremely complex set up/story. When hearing a new language such as this it is important to hear things clearly - sadly the capacity of the Adelaide Festival to screen the film was lacking on this front.
That said, the film is filled with compelling visuals not unlike one of the earlier films of de Heer, and it has some very quaint (albeit base) amusement wrapped into the story.
Set a 1000 years ago before white fellas came to Australia, this is a dual story, one told in the immediate black and white/sepia world of reality, and one told in the rich color of the Aboriginal dream time... both stories are pretty much the same, and the roles are played by the same actors in each, so there are points where it's easy to get a little confused by who is doing what and when - but over all this is what you'd call a worthy film - it has the look of an old documentary at times, and that's not a bad look.
I enjoyed it despite the technological problems of this screening.
That said, the film is filled with compelling visuals not unlike one of the earlier films of de Heer, and it has some very quaint (albeit base) amusement wrapped into the story.
Set a 1000 years ago before white fellas came to Australia, this is a dual story, one told in the immediate black and white/sepia world of reality, and one told in the rich color of the Aboriginal dream time... both stories are pretty much the same, and the roles are played by the same actors in each, so there are points where it's easy to get a little confused by who is doing what and when - but over all this is what you'd call a worthy film - it has the look of an old documentary at times, and that's not a bad look.
I enjoyed it despite the technological problems of this screening.
Yolngu Goose-eggs
tedg30 July 2009
Sometimes all you need is magic. At least it seems so, when you see the real thing. If you happened to see Baz Luhmann's "Australia" and was confused, see this instead. It is the genuine article, about the magic, told with magic. It is circular, nested and webbed. It floats, and if you let it you will nearly be lost.
The cinematography here — all the cinematic values — are only slightly apparent and when they declare themselves, it is in the service of the story: switching from subdued color to bright to signal the shift of what story you are in. Otherwise, the camera is either in conventional documentary mode or in space following spirits across landscapes as they voyage from waterhole python ouroboros and back.
What we have here is good old oral storytelling supplemented by image, and highly structured. Essentially everything is told by an offscreen aboriginal narrator, whose convoluted beginning establishes all sorts of narrative pockets that are revisited later. The story is a tree, we are told and in its telling we visit many branches. There is a sort of beginning, but it is nearly too complicated to describe. There is an ending, but no. After a chuckle the narrator tells us he has no idea how it ends.
Ostensibly, the story is told by the off-screen narrator, of a hunting party of aboriginal men, who make ten bark canoes and go hunting and gathering in the swamp. Over that period in the story, a wise man tells a story to his impatient much younger brother. That "inner" story shifts to color. It is supposed to be in a time in between creation and the full solidifying of men on earth. So the characters in the inner story are played by the folks in the outer one, and the main threads are folded together: a matter of the young man's desire for the older brother's youngest wife.
But that is the merest of threads. We are told that the story is a tree. We literally see that tree shorn of bark and made into simple canoes. We literally see our hunters — in both stories — camping in trees. The story seems to ramble. There is sorcery, mystery, charmed turds. There is revenge, jokes, anthropology. Its all of a context. A point of all this is that there cannot be a point in the western sense. There isn't a linear narrative here with a message. There is a walkabout through a storyspace.
The very first event we see tells us this in a remarkable way. Our ten men are walking single file and the last man halts the party. He refuses to be last, he says, because someone is farting. The line is consequently reshuffled. It is a gentle device, one that sets the magic for what "follows," a non-linear shuffle.
The joke at the end has the same form. The last one (the youngest wife) is not how the thing ends.
The entire production, we are told, uses aboriginal talent exclusively.
You want to know the narrative power of carefully folded (meaning here: intuitively structured) narrative? See this.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
The cinematography here — all the cinematic values — are only slightly apparent and when they declare themselves, it is in the service of the story: switching from subdued color to bright to signal the shift of what story you are in. Otherwise, the camera is either in conventional documentary mode or in space following spirits across landscapes as they voyage from waterhole python ouroboros and back.
What we have here is good old oral storytelling supplemented by image, and highly structured. Essentially everything is told by an offscreen aboriginal narrator, whose convoluted beginning establishes all sorts of narrative pockets that are revisited later. The story is a tree, we are told and in its telling we visit many branches. There is a sort of beginning, but it is nearly too complicated to describe. There is an ending, but no. After a chuckle the narrator tells us he has no idea how it ends.
Ostensibly, the story is told by the off-screen narrator, of a hunting party of aboriginal men, who make ten bark canoes and go hunting and gathering in the swamp. Over that period in the story, a wise man tells a story to his impatient much younger brother. That "inner" story shifts to color. It is supposed to be in a time in between creation and the full solidifying of men on earth. So the characters in the inner story are played by the folks in the outer one, and the main threads are folded together: a matter of the young man's desire for the older brother's youngest wife.
But that is the merest of threads. We are told that the story is a tree. We literally see that tree shorn of bark and made into simple canoes. We literally see our hunters — in both stories — camping in trees. The story seems to ramble. There is sorcery, mystery, charmed turds. There is revenge, jokes, anthropology. Its all of a context. A point of all this is that there cannot be a point in the western sense. There isn't a linear narrative here with a message. There is a walkabout through a storyspace.
The very first event we see tells us this in a remarkable way. Our ten men are walking single file and the last man halts the party. He refuses to be last, he says, because someone is farting. The line is consequently reshuffled. It is a gentle device, one that sets the magic for what "follows," a non-linear shuffle.
The joke at the end has the same form. The last one (the youngest wife) is not how the thing ends.
The entire production, we are told, uses aboriginal talent exclusively.
You want to know the narrative power of carefully folded (meaning here: intuitively structured) narrative? See this.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
Not a Hollywood blockbuster
tastyhotdogs3 June 2007
Even though it's not your typical "saturday night eating popcorn" movie, we decided this was a movie worth seeing.
"Ten Canoes" weaves two stories together. A young aboriginal man is out hunting goose eggs with nine other men and gets chatting to an elder. The elder corners him as he knows the young fella has his eyes on his youngest wife, and wants to tell him a story from the time of his ancestors that should put him off making a move. In some cultures the young fella might just get a clip around the ear, but in their culture it involves a story taking several days to tell.
May not sound fascinating, but the movie is built around what all good movies should be, an interesting story. I won't spoil it, but the story slowly builds your interest and despite the simple setting, holds your attention.
It's a refreshing movie, which keeps you watching while teaching you about another culture. Well worth seeing, however if you favourite movie is "Fast and the Furious", you may not love it.
"Ten Canoes" weaves two stories together. A young aboriginal man is out hunting goose eggs with nine other men and gets chatting to an elder. The elder corners him as he knows the young fella has his eyes on his youngest wife, and wants to tell him a story from the time of his ancestors that should put him off making a move. In some cultures the young fella might just get a clip around the ear, but in their culture it involves a story taking several days to tell.
May not sound fascinating, but the movie is built around what all good movies should be, an interesting story. I won't spoil it, but the story slowly builds your interest and despite the simple setting, holds your attention.
It's a refreshing movie, which keeps you watching while teaching you about another culture. Well worth seeing, however if you favourite movie is "Fast and the Furious", you may not love it.
Were we punk'd? But we loved it!
saareman7 September 2006
Just got home from the Sept 7, 2006 1st screening of Ten Canoes at the Toronto International Film Festival.
In what was apparently a film can foulup, the print that we saw had English language narration for the general overview parts but no subtitles whatsoever for all of the indigenous language dialogue that occurred on screen. We knew we were missing a lot of the film and definite humour (since the characters themselves were laughing) but the entire audience stayed and watched on regardless.
The director and festival programmer reacted in horror when they were told this in the Q & A. Which makes you wonder is there no advance checking of the print whatsoever or were we a test audience to see how the film would play without subtitles.
I think most people found it fascinating because this was the first time ever to see an Australian aboriginal film story played out and the beautiful cinematography and ambient sound (and/or brilliant foley) and indigenous music on the soundtrack made it a magical experience regardless.
Director Rolf de Heer gave very thorough and enthusiastic replies to audience questions at the Q & A afterwards after having only been in Toronto 2 hours from his flight from Australia. You could tell how impassioned and pleased he was about the film and his entire experience with the community that helped him make it. It seemed that he could have told anecdotes for hours about it and overall I think he gave the most detailed replies that I have ever heard a director give at TIFF (and I've seen probably a few hundred films there over the years).
Still, I wish we had gotten to know the jokes and the 50% or so of the story we missed.
I'm giving this a 7/10 with the sense that it could easily be an 8 or 9 once I've seen a version that I can completely understand.
In what was apparently a film can foulup, the print that we saw had English language narration for the general overview parts but no subtitles whatsoever for all of the indigenous language dialogue that occurred on screen. We knew we were missing a lot of the film and definite humour (since the characters themselves were laughing) but the entire audience stayed and watched on regardless.
The director and festival programmer reacted in horror when they were told this in the Q & A. Which makes you wonder is there no advance checking of the print whatsoever or were we a test audience to see how the film would play without subtitles.
I think most people found it fascinating because this was the first time ever to see an Australian aboriginal film story played out and the beautiful cinematography and ambient sound (and/or brilliant foley) and indigenous music on the soundtrack made it a magical experience regardless.
Director Rolf de Heer gave very thorough and enthusiastic replies to audience questions at the Q & A afterwards after having only been in Toronto 2 hours from his flight from Australia. You could tell how impassioned and pleased he was about the film and his entire experience with the community that helped him make it. It seemed that he could have told anecdotes for hours about it and overall I think he gave the most detailed replies that I have ever heard a director give at TIFF (and I've seen probably a few hundred films there over the years).
Still, I wish we had gotten to know the jokes and the 50% or so of the story we missed.
I'm giving this a 7/10 with the sense that it could easily be an 8 or 9 once I've seen a version that I can completely understand.
A revelatory experience
onamission4 July 2006
Wow. If your main prior experience of Aboriginal film is with black and white documentary footage from the 50s and 60s or with the many films examining the impact of white culture on black society and the often tragic results of their interplay, this will turn it on its head. The movies worships nature and the land in the same way Aboriginal culture views the land not as backdrop or something to be exploited, but as almost human itself. Without qualification or embellishment, the camera marvels at the beauty of the landscape, and we do too. The story is set many generations ago, but there is no sense of time; it could be yesterday, or 40,000 years ago. Time hasn't changed the way of life of the people we are introduced to nor the lessons the young must learn to reach maturity, as our hero Yeeralpiril discovers. David Gulpilil's narration is so masterful it suggests he has another twenty stories up his sleeve just as beguiling to tell you as this one. Film-making like this is a rare experience. Let there be more.
Aboriginal culture, it's special, that's the least we could say.
deloudelouvain5 December 2020
Maybe I could have rated Ten Canoes a bit higher but six is the rating I give to a good movie that I will only watch once and that's the case with this one. There are a lot of good things about Ten Canoes, stunning cinematography with beautiful nature shots, some images shot in color and others in black and white, it all contributed to make it a visual fest. The narrating of David Gulpilil is pleasant to listen to. The acting wasn't bad at all and that even though they probably couldn't play anything else than an Aboriginal. The story is interesting, gives you a better understanding about the Aboriginal culture, which by the way I'm happy I'm not part of. I couldn't see myself living naked in the outback where there are more deadly animals than anywhere else in the world. Ten Canoes is certainly worth a watch, with subtitles would be the better option.
Informative and entertaining
howard.schumann9 October 2006
For the Australian Aborigines who are said to date back 65,000 years, the ancestor spirits are still alive. They are a part of an Aborigine's "dreaming" and come to life in the stories indigenous Australians have told through the ages. Playfully narrated by Australian icon David Gulpilil, Ten Canoes, directed by Rolf de Heer (The Tracker) and Peter Djigirr, tells a dreaming story that acts as a lesson for a young man in the tribe who feels that the youngest wife of his older brother should be his. The story has elements of kidnapping, sorcery, and revenge but is mostly about values: how a community living in a natural environment before the coming of the White man developed laws and systems to guide its people. The cast consists of indigenous residents of the Arafura region and many of the visuals recreate the photographs of Donald Thompson, a Melbourne anthropology professor who spent time in the 1930s with the Yolngu people of the Arafura Swamp.
Set a thousand years ago in central Arnhem Land near the Arafura Swamp in northern Australia, east of Darwin, a group of Ganalbingu tribesmen embark on a hunt for magpie geese, a wild bird used to sustain the tribe. To navigate the crocodile-infested swamp, elder Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) leads the tribe in building canoes made out of bark. When he discovers that Dayindi (played by Gulpilil's son, Jamie) has a crush on his third wife, he tells him a story set in a mythical time after the great flood that explains how his people developed laws to govern their behavior, the same laws used by the tribes today. To distinguish between the past and the "present", De Heer uses muted color to show the ancient landscape and black and white for the more modern story.
In the beginning, Ridjimiraril (Crusoe Kurddal) lives with his three wives, Banalandju, Nowalingu (Frances Djulibing), and Munandjarra in a camp with others, including Birrinbirrin (Richard Birrinbirrin), an overweight elder whose sole pleasure in life is to eat honey. Ridjimiraril's younger brother, Yeeralparil (Jamie), who lives in the single men's camp, fancies the beautiful Munandjarra and spends much time stealing visits to the other camp, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. When a stranger approaches without warning, the men are frightened, especially when he tells them that he wants to trade objects of magic.
The local sorcerer warns the men of danger but life proceeds normally until the jealous Nowalingu disappears after a fight with Banalandju. Though the others believe that she simply ran away, Ridjimiraril is convinced that she was abducted by the stranger and receives confirmation for his fear when an old uncle appears and says that he saw his wife in a camp with the stranger. The men are galvanized into action and a war party is prepared. Through myth and illuminating visuals, Ten Canoes generates a greater awareness and understanding of indigenous Australian culture and acts as an impressive counterweight to the argument that Aborigines should give up their past and join the modern world. That the film is entertaining and deeply moving as well as informative is a very welcome bonus indeed.
Set a thousand years ago in central Arnhem Land near the Arafura Swamp in northern Australia, east of Darwin, a group of Ganalbingu tribesmen embark on a hunt for magpie geese, a wild bird used to sustain the tribe. To navigate the crocodile-infested swamp, elder Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) leads the tribe in building canoes made out of bark. When he discovers that Dayindi (played by Gulpilil's son, Jamie) has a crush on his third wife, he tells him a story set in a mythical time after the great flood that explains how his people developed laws to govern their behavior, the same laws used by the tribes today. To distinguish between the past and the "present", De Heer uses muted color to show the ancient landscape and black and white for the more modern story.
In the beginning, Ridjimiraril (Crusoe Kurddal) lives with his three wives, Banalandju, Nowalingu (Frances Djulibing), and Munandjarra in a camp with others, including Birrinbirrin (Richard Birrinbirrin), an overweight elder whose sole pleasure in life is to eat honey. Ridjimiraril's younger brother, Yeeralparil (Jamie), who lives in the single men's camp, fancies the beautiful Munandjarra and spends much time stealing visits to the other camp, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. When a stranger approaches without warning, the men are frightened, especially when he tells them that he wants to trade objects of magic.
The local sorcerer warns the men of danger but life proceeds normally until the jealous Nowalingu disappears after a fight with Banalandju. Though the others believe that she simply ran away, Ridjimiraril is convinced that she was abducted by the stranger and receives confirmation for his fear when an old uncle appears and says that he saw his wife in a camp with the stranger. The men are galvanized into action and a war party is prepared. Through myth and illuminating visuals, Ten Canoes generates a greater awareness and understanding of indigenous Australian culture and acts as an impressive counterweight to the argument that Aborigines should give up their past and join the modern world. That the film is entertaining and deeply moving as well as informative is a very welcome bonus indeed.
Spiritual waterhole
thinbeach28 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Patience is a central theme in 'Ten Canoes'. A young aboriginal man must be patient in his quest for a wife, and patient when listening to the stories of his elders, which can take days to recite. It takes just an hour and a half on screen, but we the audience must also exercise patience, for it unwinds slowly, and by modern Western standards, could have been told in much less time. Its worth it though, for we experience a fantastic cultural journey to Australian swamplands, where tribes live in small huts and hunt with spears, but have much the same troubles as anyone else - the desires and quarrels of love, complete with dick jokes. When a man's wife is stolen following the appearance of a stranger, said to be a sorcerer, he becomes revengeful, and walks a bloody path that ends in a fascinating death dance. The entire film is narrated, as though the elder is speaking to us directly, just as the story would be told in its natural setting. This breaks the golden 'show, don't tell' rule of filmmaking, but is apt for the purpose, and offers a unique cinema experience. Far from Hollywood and typical storytelling methods it feels authentic, and with no technology or fashion to indicate the era, 'Ten Canoes' is timeless, a tale just as relevant today as a thousand years ago.
Huh?
peterjb12 April 2008
I know I'm going to be labelled as a Philistine for these comments, but I was rather underwhelmed by the whole experience. Not that I'm not interested in this genre of movie--indeed I am, whether it be about Australian aborigines, Celts, American Indians or Canucks. But this particular presentation left me wondering why I'd spent an hour-and-a-half watching it. The story or message could have been summarised in about three or four lines; the characters should have been rounded out more; the cinematography was little more than adequate and the narration by David Gulpilil--a long-time favourite of mine--lacked impact. It came over like an aboriginal version of The Gods Must Be Crazy--sans humour! I suspect the film received its positive reviews because of its subject matter and that critics praised it because it is filmed in Ganalbingu. Why is it that I get a sense of seeing an unclothed emperor?
'Ten Canoes' rates a 10!
F Gwynplaine MacIntyre5 June 2007
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILERS THROUGHOUT. I saw 'Ten Canoes' at Cannes, and I was absolutely awestruck. Even now, almost precisely a year later, I've difficulty writing about this film without being emotionally overcome. Yes, damn it, the movie's that good, that wonderful, that miraculous.
I feel a deep attachment to this film and its subject matter. As you might guess from my email address -- Borroloola (an aboriginal settlement in the Northern Territory) -- I spent several of my formative years in Australia's outback, notably the Red Centre, Arunta and the Northern Territory, not far from where 'Ten Canoes' was filmed. I've been privileged to live with, or nearby to, members of several of the indigenous tribes from that part of Australia. The people in 'Ten Canoes' (both the actors and the roles they portray) are of the Yolngu and Gunwinggu tribes, whereas most of my own friendships in that region are with members of the Nunggubuyu and Gunbalanya groups. All of these tribes are centred in the Arnhem Land region, so I recognised much of the land (and language) in this wonderful movie.
I was surprised that this film's English title has a number in it, because the Arnhem Land natives did not use number words until recently. They quantify an object by naming it as many times as needed. For instance, the Nunggubuyu word for 'day' is 'jami', so 'three days' would be 'jami jami jami'. This system works well enough for quantities of as many as five (a hand's worth): for more than five of anything, they use a word for 'many'.
It turns out that the title 'Ten Canoes' is largely irrelevant and mostly symbolic. Ten Yolngu warriors are on an expedition to steal goose eggs from their nests (insert 'poached eggs' joke here). To travel by water, the warriors must construct one canoe for each man. But the title refers to the ten men themselves, or their physical bodies: vessels (canoes) in which their souls travel the (river) current of existence. (The press kit at Cannes said that this film's title was inspired by a photograph ... yet that photo is never seen in this film. My own explanation fits the circumstances just as well.)
The film's narration by David Gulpilil is perfect. He speaks his lines in an accent containing just enough Strine to link the action to modern Australia without evoking Mick Dundee or any Ocker stereotypes.
Several supernatural events occur during this film, but they're conveyed in native Australian terms, not Hollywood clichés ... so, don't expect any CGI f/x mucking up this wonderful story. The beautiful photography is entirely at the service of native Australian story-telling techniques. Even the subtle manipulation of colour, which could have been just one more gimmick, adds a dimension to the narrative.
The aboriginal actors, with their distinctive Dravidian facial structures, photograph astonishingly. Unfortunately for the film, one or two of them have modern dentition, spoiling the effect that we're witnessing events occurring thousands of years before white men's arrival in Australia. The main Gunwinggu character has a moustache just a bit too neatly trimmed. More favourably, I was delighted by a scene which shows (accurately) how these ancient men, who have no metal, are able to shave their beards.
Very credibly, their preoccupations are much as we might expect: flatulence, sex, physical urges.
Because I've done continuity work on several films, I compulsively check every movie I view (and its soundtrack) for continuity errors or anachronisms. As I watched and enjoyed 'Ten Canoes' and the beautiful footage of Arnhem Land flora and fauna, I kept checking for jet contrails, rabbit fences, bird calls by imported species, or any other signs of modern life in this movie's depiction of dawntime Australia. The flawless teeth of a couple of the actors were the only flaws in this film.
I wept with joy and delight at the beauty and narrative power of this unique and precious film. A rating of 10 out of 10 isn't good enough, but it'll have to do. If you have any passion at all for anything outside the usual Hollywood or Bollywood clichés, you must see 'Ten Canoes'.
I feel a deep attachment to this film and its subject matter. As you might guess from my email address -- Borroloola (an aboriginal settlement in the Northern Territory) -- I spent several of my formative years in Australia's outback, notably the Red Centre, Arunta and the Northern Territory, not far from where 'Ten Canoes' was filmed. I've been privileged to live with, or nearby to, members of several of the indigenous tribes from that part of Australia. The people in 'Ten Canoes' (both the actors and the roles they portray) are of the Yolngu and Gunwinggu tribes, whereas most of my own friendships in that region are with members of the Nunggubuyu and Gunbalanya groups. All of these tribes are centred in the Arnhem Land region, so I recognised much of the land (and language) in this wonderful movie.
I was surprised that this film's English title has a number in it, because the Arnhem Land natives did not use number words until recently. They quantify an object by naming it as many times as needed. For instance, the Nunggubuyu word for 'day' is 'jami', so 'three days' would be 'jami jami jami'. This system works well enough for quantities of as many as five (a hand's worth): for more than five of anything, they use a word for 'many'.
It turns out that the title 'Ten Canoes' is largely irrelevant and mostly symbolic. Ten Yolngu warriors are on an expedition to steal goose eggs from their nests (insert 'poached eggs' joke here). To travel by water, the warriors must construct one canoe for each man. But the title refers to the ten men themselves, or their physical bodies: vessels (canoes) in which their souls travel the (river) current of existence. (The press kit at Cannes said that this film's title was inspired by a photograph ... yet that photo is never seen in this film. My own explanation fits the circumstances just as well.)
The film's narration by David Gulpilil is perfect. He speaks his lines in an accent containing just enough Strine to link the action to modern Australia without evoking Mick Dundee or any Ocker stereotypes.
Several supernatural events occur during this film, but they're conveyed in native Australian terms, not Hollywood clichés ... so, don't expect any CGI f/x mucking up this wonderful story. The beautiful photography is entirely at the service of native Australian story-telling techniques. Even the subtle manipulation of colour, which could have been just one more gimmick, adds a dimension to the narrative.
The aboriginal actors, with their distinctive Dravidian facial structures, photograph astonishingly. Unfortunately for the film, one or two of them have modern dentition, spoiling the effect that we're witnessing events occurring thousands of years before white men's arrival in Australia. The main Gunwinggu character has a moustache just a bit too neatly trimmed. More favourably, I was delighted by a scene which shows (accurately) how these ancient men, who have no metal, are able to shave their beards.
Very credibly, their preoccupations are much as we might expect: flatulence, sex, physical urges.
Because I've done continuity work on several films, I compulsively check every movie I view (and its soundtrack) for continuity errors or anachronisms. As I watched and enjoyed 'Ten Canoes' and the beautiful footage of Arnhem Land flora and fauna, I kept checking for jet contrails, rabbit fences, bird calls by imported species, or any other signs of modern life in this movie's depiction of dawntime Australia. The flawless teeth of a couple of the actors were the only flaws in this film.
I wept with joy and delight at the beauty and narrative power of this unique and precious film. A rating of 10 out of 10 isn't good enough, but it'll have to do. If you have any passion at all for anything outside the usual Hollywood or Bollywood clichés, you must see 'Ten Canoes'.
unique setting can't overcome dull storytelling
Buddy-5127 June 2008
Despite its exquisitely photographed and exotic locale, "Ten Canoes" is strictly for those who still need a bedtime story to help them fall asleep. Set in the Australian outback, this tale of life among the Aborigines is as beautiful to look at as it is tedious to sit through. As we watch a group of men building canoes, a wizened but droning narrator spins an ancient yarn about a stranger who wanders into a village, forever altering the lives of those who live there (interestingly, while the scenes in the past have been filmed in color, those set in the present are in black-and-white).
"Ten Canoes" may have value as an anthropological study of sorts, but its desultory pacing and lack of compelling drama make it a very dull slog indeed for even the most adventurous of armchair-traveling moviegoers.
"Ten Canoes" may have value as an anthropological study of sorts, but its desultory pacing and lack of compelling drama make it a very dull slog indeed for even the most adventurous of armchair-traveling moviegoers.
Terrific
paulmartin-24 May 2006
This is a truly unique cinema experience - story-telling at its finest. The film documents Aboriginal culture, history and humor in a way that I have never seen on-screen before.
The voice-over narration of David Gulpilil is excellent. The cinematography is awesome. The film oozes with authenticity and was filmed on location in very remote areas of the Northern Territory of Australia.
It's tragic that this culture should be so remote and foreign to Australians (what to speak of others elsewhere in the world).
This film is full of the dignity of this honorable race of people who have so much to be proud of.
The voice-over narration of David Gulpilil is excellent. The cinematography is awesome. The film oozes with authenticity and was filmed on location in very remote areas of the Northern Territory of Australia.
It's tragic that this culture should be so remote and foreign to Australians (what to speak of others elsewhere in the world).
This film is full of the dignity of this honorable race of people who have so much to be proud of.
A Beguiling Myth
Philby-315 July 2006
The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who lived to be 92 and spent much of his life in the aristocratic splendour of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, famously opined that the life of primitive man was "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short". Jacques Rousseau, on the other hand, in direct contradiction of Christian theology, was convinced that man had been born good, and that primitive man was indeed the "noble savage".
Rolf de Heer, a maker of small, quirky and interesting films ("Bad Boy Bubby", "The Old Man Who Read Love Stories", "The Tracker"), probably doesn't subscribe to either notion. In this exquisitely photographed tale from the mythical past he lets the aboriginals of the Arafura wetlands, Arnhem Land, tell their own story. Apart from David Gulpilil, who provides a gentle, teasing voice-over, and his son Jamie, all the parts are played by non-professional actors from the district. Apart from the voice-over, all the dialogue is in the local aboriginal language (don't worry, there are sub-titles).
While on a goose egg hunting trip, Older Brother , who has noticed his younger brother's interest in one of his wives, tells Younger Brother a story from a much earlier time, of another younger brother who yearned after his older brother's wife. Without giving the story away, the moral is "be careful about what you wish for, you might get it", but much happens in between. It becomes evident that these "savages", as well as possessing a robust sense of humor, have a legal system that minimizes the damage done by crimes. It seems that neighboring tribes, whose language our tribe scarcely understands, will play by the same rules. Once honour is satisfied, the matter is at an end. The story gives us an insight as to how aboriginal society remained stable for so long prior to contact with Europeans.
It is hard to comment on the acting, other than to say the characters seem completely authentic. The tribe's sorcerer, for instance, likes to choose a bone to wear in his nose to suit his mood or the occasion, just as your local GP might like to select a bow tie before opening his surgery. But I have to mention Crusoe Kusddal as Ridjimiraril, the older brother in the myth. His language means little to us, but his expression everything.
The scenes on the goose-hunt, which book-end the main story, are in black and white, a tribute to earlier photographers in Arnhem Land, but most of the film is in colour, which does full justice to the landscape. This is no Garden of Eden the necessity to build tree platforms while camping in the swamp is evidence of that (though we see no actual crocodiles). Yet the aborigines manage to live within the environment without despoiling it or each other. Theirs is a patriarchal society but women are protected by the rules as well as by their menfolk. The movie is a fascinating glimpse into the culture, told in a disarmingly humorous fashion, by the people themselves. One should not be too misty-eyed about this the cast probably watch "The Simpsons" via satellite at home but they have given us both a droll tale and some food for thought.
Rolf de Heer, a maker of small, quirky and interesting films ("Bad Boy Bubby", "The Old Man Who Read Love Stories", "The Tracker"), probably doesn't subscribe to either notion. In this exquisitely photographed tale from the mythical past he lets the aboriginals of the Arafura wetlands, Arnhem Land, tell their own story. Apart from David Gulpilil, who provides a gentle, teasing voice-over, and his son Jamie, all the parts are played by non-professional actors from the district. Apart from the voice-over, all the dialogue is in the local aboriginal language (don't worry, there are sub-titles).
While on a goose egg hunting trip, Older Brother , who has noticed his younger brother's interest in one of his wives, tells Younger Brother a story from a much earlier time, of another younger brother who yearned after his older brother's wife. Without giving the story away, the moral is "be careful about what you wish for, you might get it", but much happens in between. It becomes evident that these "savages", as well as possessing a robust sense of humor, have a legal system that minimizes the damage done by crimes. It seems that neighboring tribes, whose language our tribe scarcely understands, will play by the same rules. Once honour is satisfied, the matter is at an end. The story gives us an insight as to how aboriginal society remained stable for so long prior to contact with Europeans.
It is hard to comment on the acting, other than to say the characters seem completely authentic. The tribe's sorcerer, for instance, likes to choose a bone to wear in his nose to suit his mood or the occasion, just as your local GP might like to select a bow tie before opening his surgery. But I have to mention Crusoe Kusddal as Ridjimiraril, the older brother in the myth. His language means little to us, but his expression everything.
The scenes on the goose-hunt, which book-end the main story, are in black and white, a tribute to earlier photographers in Arnhem Land, but most of the film is in colour, which does full justice to the landscape. This is no Garden of Eden the necessity to build tree platforms while camping in the swamp is evidence of that (though we see no actual crocodiles). Yet the aborigines manage to live within the environment without despoiling it or each other. Theirs is a patriarchal society but women are protected by the rules as well as by their menfolk. The movie is a fascinating glimpse into the culture, told in a disarmingly humorous fashion, by the people themselves. One should not be too misty-eyed about this the cast probably watch "The Simpsons" via satellite at home but they have given us both a droll tale and some food for thought.
First film I have fallen asleep in
efcarter8 January 2007
David Gulpilil's voice had a nice originality to it that helped carry this film, unfortunately thou the film was too long and too quiet overall. This is the first time I have fallen asleep in a film and when I visited the ladies room after the film I heard from multiply other women that they fell asleep also or that their husbands fell asleep. I saw this film at the Palm Springs Film Fest where we always talk about the films while waiting in lines and several other folks commented about this film being too slow. The story definitely had some funny moments and told a good moral lesson but the path to get there was too painfully slow. The cinematography was great and the decision to switch from color to black and white, back and forth was very effective. The casting and costume design was very effective. If the story was more complex, or if the characters actually spoke more to each other and there was less of a narrative that might have helped this film hold my interest longer. Some might say I don't have the ability to look deeper into a film, well that might be, but it has to keep me engaged and awake before I can do that. The story is about the older generation teaching the younger generation some life lessons via the method of story telling, so the film ends with a not overtly stated "the moral of the story is"
along the way you get to see some beautiful back country.
Ten Canoes is outstanding cinema
mricha7326 August 2006
On a recent visit to Melbourne, I came across a poster for the movie Ten Canoes. It described a film about Australian Aborigines and claimed to portray them authentically. The film sets a new standard for cross-cultural understanding. Ever since Whale Rider I have been entranced by movies about aboriginal culture. This film extends the genre onto a higher plane.
The narrator tells a story about men hunting for goose eggs in canoes while one tells a story from the ancient times. Both stories are woven exquisitely together to form a dream-like telling. The cinematography captures the actual remote locations the tribe inhabits. The characters are portrayed as authentically as can be, probably because they are. (At least, it seemed that way to a white guy from Boston.) I don't know if any are actual actors.
If you have interest in any aboriginal culture or anything Australian, you should see this movie. If you love great story telling, you must see it.
The narrator tells a story about men hunting for goose eggs in canoes while one tells a story from the ancient times. Both stories are woven exquisitely together to form a dream-like telling. The cinematography captures the actual remote locations the tribe inhabits. The characters are portrayed as authentically as can be, probably because they are. (At least, it seemed that way to a white guy from Boston.) I don't know if any are actual actors.
If you have interest in any aboriginal culture or anything Australian, you should see this movie. If you love great story telling, you must see it.
Drawn out and boring in places.
aford-1110 September 2006
I was expecting a better film all round. I really enjoyed The Chant Of Jimmy Blacksmith and The Last Wave, but this was not what I would class as an entertaining film and quite boring in a few places. I Almost fell asleep at one point, it was not until after the film, that the person I was with admitted doing the same. I am glad I saw the film, but would feel uncomfortable recommending anyone else to see it. The acting was average and the special effects adequate, overall I am sorry to say that I found the film to be quite amateurish. I found that historically and culturally the film was interesting but certainly not one of Australia's best efforts.
a stone age comedy for a new century
ptb-812 July 2006
I encourage you to also read the other comments on this site for TEN CANOES as each also will add to the clear understanding of this astonishing Australian film by master film maker Rolf DeHeer. He is a Dutch immigrant to Australia whose unique look at this country has now produced a superb library of films each different, that contribute to a fascinating movie spectrum of impressions of Australian life. TEN CANOES is an Aboriginal parable set possibly ten thousand years ago. It has hilarious casual dialog and familiar situations depicting tribal family and community life that humanizes this people in a heightened way so accessible to audiences of 2007. At this time in a new century we are now blessed with a sequence of Australian aboriginal themed films I encourage you to find and view in their production order: JEDDA directed by Charles Chauvel in 1956, WALKABOUT d: Nicolas Roeg in 1970, STORM BOY in 1976, THE LAST WAVE d: Peter Weir in 1977, RABBIT PROOF FENCE d; Phil Noyce in 2003, THE TRACKER d Roldf De Heer, and now TEN CANOES. Incredibly and as a bonus celebrated Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil features in all of them except Jedda... and as a bonus in theme, his son Jamie is the lead actor in TEN CANOES with David narrating. TEN CANOES will take you to a reality and a community unlike anything ever depicted in any film ever. As alike those above, it is presented and magnificently filmed in cinemascope differently to any Australian (or 'primitive') feature I have ever had the fascinating engrossing pleasure of seeing. Just to study the timeless faces alone is a peep into history and often delivered with very funny and genuinely suspenseful and heartwarming results. De Heer is now a film maker par excellence now finally getting major recognition in this country with a broad range of different and arresting films unlike any other film maker I can name. just for starters, check out the comments for BAD BOY BUBBY, ALEXANDRA'S PROJECT, THE QUIET ROOM, alone for a jaw dropping range of themes. Even if you see TEN CANOES and find the journey into the Australian stone age initially difficult, you will be astonished at the visuals presented and in awe of the fact this was ever captured on film with such humor and accessible humanities.
Unique.
socrates_note25 June 2006
An outstanding movie. Storytelling at its finest. Ten canoes is a story within a story and delves into a world that people rarely no about. Away from the clichéd Aboriginal art and instruments - we are propelled to live by proxy with two generations and experience their world, their humour. This was one of two most outstanding movies at this year's Cannes film festival. The only shame was that it was not in the official competition section but in the un certain regard. /however, showing great wisdom, the jury did realise and rightly so award for the first time ever a special jury prize to Ten Canoes. Written, shot and directed with a deft touch. Sheer class.
Truly amazed about the high average
mortenmadsen1510 November 2007
The trailer does in no manner show what this movie is like. In fact The entire movie is quite well summarized in it. The story moves _extremly_ slow and does best mostly for a nap. If you would like to get the impression of the life in the bush, go ahead and watch it. I know for sure that I would rather have seen something else! Looking at the grades I feel like what I felt after seeing Serenity - the votes must come from only the dedicated fans... There is simply not more to write so the rest ends up as a free roll - sorry for that and I know it is against the guide lines. I just feel that... well.. It is not good and the only way that I can spread the word is by saying something and not only be some "stupid smock" giving it two when the statistics shows that it is okay. It simply is not okay.
Not likely to see anything like this ever again
bandw19 April 2009
This story begins with an aerial flyover of Arnhem Land in northern Austalia. A narrator comes on saying that he is going to tell a story, his story. His story starts with the recounting of a tale about his ancestors of a few generations back who are making canoes to traverse a crocodile-filled swamp in search of goose eggs. Within that tale a wise older man is telling another, somewhat parallel, tale to his younger brother dating back many generations to "the ancients." In a clever plotting device the ancestor's tale is shown in black and white while the ancient's tale is shown in color. This technique has the dual effect of allowing director Rolf de Heer to duplicate scenes from black and white photographs taken in the area by an anthropologist in the 1930s (photographs that motivated the making of this film), as well as helping the viewer keep the stories straight.
The cast consists of a few dozen modern day aboriginals playing the parts in the two stories. They try to capture the reality of the times portrayed, and you can believe that this was the way it could have been thousands of years ago for a tribe of early humans. The earlier Astralians have their own customs and language and the cast speaks in their native language, with English subtitles. I kept thinking of how the basic emotions driving the stories are still with us--fear, jealousy, lust, love, trust, distrust, pride, humor, courage, loyalty, honor. The culture presented is indeed not mine, but it is perfectly understandable. Sorcerers keep the tribe stirred up and mystified with special knowledge of "magic," just as modern religions do (with equal effectiveness). There are laws that must be obeyed, even if unwritten. The young men relish showing prowess in hunting and war making. A creator is deemed the prime mover. Marital relationships are not always harmonious, especially if polygamous. And so on.
It appears that no matter how it manifests itself a culture will wrap itself around basic human emotions and desires. It would not be a stretch to recast these stories in a modern setting.
The photography of the landscape is beautiful and sensuous; it contributes greatly to the stories by showing what an intimate relationship early peoples had with the land and its fauna.
This movie helps us better appreciate where we came from and what we are.
The cast consists of a few dozen modern day aboriginals playing the parts in the two stories. They try to capture the reality of the times portrayed, and you can believe that this was the way it could have been thousands of years ago for a tribe of early humans. The earlier Astralians have their own customs and language and the cast speaks in their native language, with English subtitles. I kept thinking of how the basic emotions driving the stories are still with us--fear, jealousy, lust, love, trust, distrust, pride, humor, courage, loyalty, honor. The culture presented is indeed not mine, but it is perfectly understandable. Sorcerers keep the tribe stirred up and mystified with special knowledge of "magic," just as modern religions do (with equal effectiveness). There are laws that must be obeyed, even if unwritten. The young men relish showing prowess in hunting and war making. A creator is deemed the prime mover. Marital relationships are not always harmonious, especially if polygamous. And so on.
It appears that no matter how it manifests itself a culture will wrap itself around basic human emotions and desires. It would not be a stretch to recast these stories in a modern setting.
The photography of the landscape is beautiful and sensuous; it contributes greatly to the stories by showing what an intimate relationship early peoples had with the land and its fauna.
This movie helps us better appreciate where we came from and what we are.
Not a Hollywood Movie!
mzeilik13 January 2007
"Ten Canoes" tells three stories: That of the storyteller himself, that the of hunt for geese and their eggs, and that of the ancestors -- especially their troubles and the consequences of their actions and relationship to the law. Midway through the second story, which bookends the mythical one, that interior storyteller (Elder Brother) states that Younger Brother is beginning to learn a lesson from the telling itself -- patience. Such patience is also required of the viewer, for the pace and structure of both the "today" story and the "mythical" have their an organic unfolding (metaphor: a growing tree) that is quite unlike that of most contemporary Hollywood movies, with their fast call to conflict and continuous conflict.
I was struck by the transition of "today's" story from color to black and white as the mythical story is told, the showing of the mythical tale in color (which helped to separate it from the today story), and the dissolve to color in today time as the mythical telling ends.
Water is the core of the story, as the river, the swamp, and rain are the images that open and close the movie. The tale begins, ends, and begins again.
I was struck by the transition of "today's" story from color to black and white as the mythical story is told, the showing of the mythical tale in color (which helped to separate it from the today story), and the dissolve to color in today time as the mythical telling ends.
Water is the core of the story, as the river, the swamp, and rain are the images that open and close the movie. The tale begins, ends, and begins again.
A superb naturalistic and respectful presentation of Australian aboriginal life.
ipilowsk3 July 2006
Ten canoes is a remarkable film which I am sure will take its place amongst the classics in history of movie-making. As usual he allows the subject(s) to speak for itself and the result is marvellous. The audience I saw it with did not seem to want leave at the and no one moved or made a sound until the end of the credits. i don't know how to interpret this reaction. In my own case I had a sense of hoping for more which may have been due to the nature of th final 5 minutes during which there was a sort of false ending with some self effacing humour. The participants were excellent and their 'naturalistic acting was outstanding. The music and editing contributed to the elegiacs quality of the movie. Rolf de Heer never disappoints!
A Little Bit Of This, And A Little Bit Of That
Seamus282930 June 2007
I had the good fortune of coming across this (somewhat)overlooked gem when it played at one my local art cinemas recently. 'Ten Canoes' is one of those films that is an open window to another culture (albiet one that is still regarded as a mystery to Westerners). It is a multi layered story about love,lust,envy,mistaken identity,revenge,etc. What I admired about it is the fact that it's told as a story within a story within a story,and is shot both in black & white & colour (to transpire time). I guess if I have only minor beef with this film is the fact that although it takes place thousands of years ago, it has to pander to toilet humour from time to time to attract the audiences of today. That aside, Ten Canoes can easily take it's place among other films within this genre (Salt Men Of Tibet,Pathfinder--the original Norwegian edition,and not the tepid American remake of recent,as well as others). It's one of those odd little films that you'll probably have to seek out,as it won't play in mainstream cinemas (it contains yards of male,as well as female nudity--although it contains absolutely no graphic sex scenes)
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