Tanna

I have seen a few reviews both here and on other sites that make me laugh in relation to the reviewer's knowledge of the movie "plot" and of Tanna Island itself.

NO, NO, NO! Tanna is NOT in a remote part of Australia nor is it a part of the Solomon Island group.

Tanna is one of the 97 Islands in the Republic of Vanuatu, (Formerly known as the New Hebrides until independence in 1980.)

There is no such word as "Vanuatuan" it is just Vanuatu. The people are known as Ni-Vanuatu (basically meaning 'born Vanuatu'), not "Indians".

For those who thought that the 'plot' was a bit thin, what were the film makers supposed to do? The 'plot' is based on REAL events that happened just as 'recently' as 1987. Would it have been right for the film makers to fabricate a different story or outcome?

One of the real take aways from the movie and the events themselves was just how quickly the Ni-Vanuatu people reacted to the sad outcome that was initially brought on by the prior custom of arranged marriages.

The people in the movie may be viewed by some as 'uneducated savages', but hey, they stopped arranged marriages in 1987, the Royal Family of Britain were still wanting to arrange marriages until Prince William and Prince Harry turned the tide.

The other thing that gains some criticism, is that the film gets a bit slow from time to time. Yes, I agree that it does.

But I think what the movie makers were trying to create, was not just a typical movie with just a storyline, they were trying to draw us into knowing the people of Vanuatu better, they were giving us incredible images of the great beauty of the country and it's islands, and they were showing us that Vanuatu is "another time, another pace".

Things do tend to happen a bit slowly in Vanuatu, and the Pacific Islands as a whole. The term 'Pacific Time' is well known to seasoned travellers.

In Vanuatu, you learn to slow down, look around and see and appreciate the little things in life. Take time to smell the Hibiscus and the fresh clean environment.

Sure there is violence, but also look at the simple pleasures and happiness gained by the people. People living happily and contentedly without the need for material things that we think are so important to our lives.

People living together, supporting one another and coming together and resolving issues in times of turmoil and grief.

Look beyond the storyline and our own ideas of life and see that these 'primitive' people have so much to teach us 'civilised' ones, if we just take the time to stop and really look.

I was lucky enough to see this amazing movie in Vanuatu in March. I am frustrated that this movie is not widely available in the US and you can not buy the DVD here. This movie is beautiful. You are transported to another culture dealing with the universal issues of love, family and community norms.

What is even more amazing is the actors are not trained actors but villagers. They do an excellent job.

The movie is visually stunning. Shot in Vanuatu on location with an active volcano in the background adds to the emotion.

Hope others in the US get the opportunity to see this.

Going into this I wasn't really sure what to expect. Maybe for that reason the sheer dazzling beauty of its beauty really surprised me and really had me falling in love with what I was seeing. I don't think the screenplay is on the level of the directing, acting, and cinematography here (although it's still rather good) and that's only because the film works on a level of poetry and trance-like mystery and awe. Its beauty sort of transcends the screen and really leaves you with so many different emotions. It's great that a film like this got nominated for the Oscar and while I don't think it's the best of the nominees, it surely comes highly recommended.

Tanna is a small island in the South Pacific, part of the nation of Vanuatu. The traditional way of life is still prevalent there, so Western sensibilities have to be put to one side for this film featuring tribal dances, pig slaughtering and penis sheaths.

Dain is a chieftain's grandson and Wawa granddaughter of a shaman. The pair are in love, but when a long-standing rivalry with a neighbouring tribe once more erupts into violence, Wawa's hand in marriage is promised to a warrior of that tribe as part of peace negotiations. Forbidden by their elders from being together, Wawa and Dain resolve to defy their families.

So far, so Romeo and Juliet. Except that this is based on actual events that happened barely thirty years ago, making the film an account of a relatively recent way of life on the isolated island - unsurprisingly, as directors/producers/scriptwriters Martin Butler and Bentley Dean usually work on documentaries. As you would expect from a cast of non-professionals, the acting is of variable quality, but the cinematography - from the lush forest to the barren landscape of the island's volcano, lit only by occasional eruptions of lava - is stunning. And how often do you see a film from the South Pacific?

Tanna is a beautiful and tragic love story of two star crossed lovers who create a conflict between the heritage and the changing circumstance in a conventional community. This film is completely shot in gorgeous locations of Vanuatu an island in the South Pacific Ocean, all the actors in the film belong to the native tribe who are completely away from the modern world. This makes the film very authentic. This kind of films are very rare. The story told here is true, re-enacted decades after the fact. The plot is fairly familiar. It is best not to watch this film for the plot, instead for the visual imagery and to witness a culture that we have not encountered before. This film portrays modernization as a kind of loss of innocence. The cinematography and the score are hauntingly beautiful. This is a remarkable cinematic undertaking in what it has achieved. This film is a need for humanity.