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Black Robe (1991)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
4 October 1991 (USA) morePlot:
In the 17th century a Jesuit priest and a young companion are escorted through the wilderness of Quebec... more | full synopsisAwards:
10 wins & 13 nominations moreUser Comments:
Significantly softened moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
101 min | Germany:97 minColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
DolbyCertification:
Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:15 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Germany:12 | Iceland:16Fun Stuff
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. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Mestigoit the Sorcerer meets Laforgue, Laforgue is reading the Breviary (daily prayer of a priest). The page is clearly at DOMINICA V POST PASCHA, the fifth Sunday of Easter which falls between 3rd May and 6th June. Yet the action is supposed to be taking place in the autumn-winter of 1634. moreQuotes:
Huron Man: The Blackrobes want us to give up the dream. To have only one wife. To stop killing our enemies. If we obey them, we will no longer be Hurons. And soon our enemies will know our weakness and wipe us from the earth. moreMovie Connections:
Featured in Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004) (TV) moreFAQ
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This film made major concessions to political correctness in its portrayal of the Indians, who are depicted in a considerably more flattering light here than they are in Brian Moore's novel. This could also be considered the romanticizing "Dances With Wolves" effect. The novel drew some (unjust) criticism here in Canada for its uncompromising approach.
The actual history is fairly readily available. "The Jesuits in North America in the 17th Century" by the great American historian Francis Parkman is the standard 19th c. work on the proselytizing efforts of the French Récollet and Jesuit fathers.
Still, if you are not very familiar with the subject, this film is a strong, and quite gruesome, introduction. I'm not aware of a lot of films about the colonial period which are as tough. Not "Last of the Mohicans", or the adult westerns from the '50's, in my opinion. "Little Big Man", perhaps. Or possibly "A Man Called Horse", which I haven't seen. The priest in the story is a composite of actual missionaries, and the impact of this historical adventure thriller is heightened for me knowing that everything in this film happened, and often a whole lot worse.
The rights and wrongs, the pros and cons, of the cultural collision of Europeans with the autochthonous peoples are still too contentious, so I would rather not get into them. There is a lot here to brood about afterwards, and chances are good that you'll seek out a copy of the novel -- it's not very long, and a lot easier to read than James Fenimore Cooper. If you're American or Canadian, this is an important part of our shared past.
"Black Robe" is one of the very best Canadian feature films, with a solid cast led by Lothaire Bluteau with August Schellenberg and Tantoo Cardinal in support. The presence of an Australian director, Bruce Beresford, perhaps kept the film from turning into a well-meaning but dry Canadian history lesson.