For a film about Christian missionaries, this one verges on Horror. Not for the weak of heart--or stomach. One glaring mistake was a veneration of St. Joan of Arc. This film was set in the early 17th century. St. Joan wasn't canonized (through the efforts of Therese of Lisieux later sainted herself, among others) until 1920. There are some theological problems, but they have nothing to do with the film itself and everything to do with the way Roman Catholics chose to present the good news of eternal life and how they chose to describe the afterlife--or their lack of description based on ignorance. Too, when you are baptizing someone who is dying, wouldn't you want to speak their own language, especially if you are fluent in it, instead of Latin--which isn't even your native language? And why are you whipping your back with a rough pine branch until it bleeds after lusting for that Algonquin girl when a simple 'I'm sorry, Jesus. Please give me the strength to fight temptation and to remember that I am celibate by choice so I won't be weighed down by earthly matters' would be far more effective? All in all, this film stands the test of time, and I only give it a 7 rating because of the Joan of Arc mistake and because of the unnecessary rambunctious copulation scenes.
Review of Black Robe
