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Black Robe’ offers challenge of uncompromising honestyBy Lou GaulCalktm Newspapers Ptlm CriticIn the visually striking fron tier tale “Black Robe/’ Bruce Beresford creates a disturbing portrait of how French mis sionanes decimated the lives of Indians during a quest to save their “souls ”Beautifully photographed and realistically rendered, the R*rated film has the AustraU an director exploring a prob lem of communication lt;a theme shared by his previous films, “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Tender Mercies”) be tween the men of God and the natives of the Canadian wilderness These French missionaries set their sights on imposing their religious beliefs on oth ers and view the quest as doing the nght thing, but out of their misplaced zeal comes despair, disease and — finally — destruction Unlike Kevin Costner, whose images in “Dances With Wolves” mirror the majesty of the frontier, Beresford examines the dark side of that landscape, a place in which even the strongest individuals fight each day to survive The filmmaker pulls no punches and his strikingly violent im ages of “savage” Indians have caused some Native American groups to protest “Black Robe”Like Bob Rafelson's “Moun[A REVIEWtains of the Moon” (1989) and Roland Joffe’s “The Mission” (1986) two critically underrat ed, financially unsuccessful epics about the steps of cm lized man into supposedly backward worlds, “Black Robe” never veers from its tough approachSuch an uncompromising stance will prove risky at the box office, since most people may wince at the hard edged elements and simply skip the picture But the quest for real ism infuses the R rated tale with a compelling tone and unforgettable powerSet in 1634, the film follows Father Laforgue (Lothaire Bluteau), nicknamed “Black Robe” by the Indians because of his attire, as he endures an impossibly hard 1,500 mile trek through the Canadian wil demess“If we do not change them (the Indians), how can they enter heaven’/' Laforgue asks before heading off on his dead end journey, during which he gams new respect for the Indi ansThe cautious interplay be tween Laforgue and the Indi ans, who can t understand his vow of celibacy, anchors ‘Black Robe” and establishes a distrustful atmosphere that permeates the film Those looking for the thrills of “Dances With Wolves” won't find it hereWhat they will find is a graphically realistic tale that shows men and women being tortured (with sharpened shells slicing off fingers with the ease of a bowie knife cut ting butter) and images of realistic hardships that will leave viewers shakenBluteau is a bit too earnest in the lead, but August Schel lenberg lends great credibility as a noble Algonquin chief whose code of honor forces him to lead the missionaryOn$ could argue that Beres ford might have slightly light ened the tone to make “BlackRobe” more accessible to a larger audience, but the direc tor obviously sought to re main true to the rugged spirit of Brian Moore’s realistic novel
Newspaper Details
Doylestown Intelligencer
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, US
Wed, Nov 13, 1991
Page 24
Full Page
Clipped by
Jon C.
NJ, USA 18 Jan 2020
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