Popular reviews

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  Review by CJ Probst ★★★★½ 6

  Here is your next winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film as far as this guy is concerned. How is no one talking about this?

  It is only once in a great while that I see a film as powerful and breathtakingly gorgeous as Tanna. Shot on location and featuring a cast consisting of indigenous peoples of the titular island, this film tells a very old story indeed, one that everyone who sees it will be more than familiar with. That should not deter anyone from seeing what will likely be my new favorite film of 2016. The story, though deceptively derivative, is actually a true one and feels every bit as original as it does familiar. Anyone…

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  Review by Alex ★★★★½ 2

  A tale of star-crossed love on the Vanuatuan island of Tanna, the obvious pull to call this Romeo and Juliet in the Pacific Ocean Islands would be doing a disservice to the significant cultural depiction that this film is.

  Using local non-actors in all the parts, Tanna benefits from significant involvement from the people whose story this belongs, resulting in very rare authenticity. Both stars are captivating and adored by the camera (as are most of the cast), with Marie Wawa in the lead role a real natural. Living under the shadow of a volcano, the beauty and power of the jungle setting is on full display and like the rest of the film, the constantly gorgeous cinematography never feels…

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  Review by Michael Scott ★★★½ 1

  I’ll admit to being a little uncomfortable sitting, fully blanketed, in an air conditioned cinema watching the shivering, grass-skirted cast of Tanna doing the promotional dance for their film. As they answer the trickle of condescending white people questions through their exuberant translator, the ethnographic consumption of their first feature hit home.

  Thankfully, none of this discomfort presents in the film itself. Extensive collaboration with the Yakel tribe, one of Tanna’s traditionally-living Kastom communities, by directors Martin Butler and Bentley Dean, has resulted in a vivid melding of cultural rigour and storytelling naturalism. The bare bones of the narrative are drawn from the island’s recent history, with first time actors drawing on their actual lives to recreate the story of…

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  Review by rawbehr ★★★★

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

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  Review by Anya Bo 🌹 ★★★ 2

  beautiful story, a little predictable but still beautifully told, and the cinematography is magical, the volcano shots were breathtaking.  ans wawa is such a beauty, she is kind and a pure soul i'm so in love with her character!

  
  This movie deserves more attention and appreciation.

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  Review by PUNQ ★★★

  Tribal love 'Romeo & Juliet'-style! An eternal, predictable romance story with a warm beating heart.

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  Review by Maricota ★★★★★

  What a stunning piece of art and life. People should be talking more about "Tanna", they should.

  Those volcano shots will hunt my sould forever.

  Love is Love is Love is Love

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  Review by Peter H ★★★★

  I know nothing about the tribal cultures of Vanuatu, so I have no idea if the directors here got it right. I hope they did. At the very least, it passes my (uneducated) sniff test.

  This film looks absolutely gorgeous. It's filled with lovely performances from non-actors. The plot and pacing are tight. Instead of taking time to establish the world these people live in, we jump right into the story. It's less othering for the subject, less condescending to the viewer, and makes more a more engaging tale. While parts are predictable, I'd say they're directed in such a way that they don't lose their impact.

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  Review by Steven Sheehan ★★★½ 7

  A pretty good double bill to be had here along with Herzog's Into The Inferno, although perhaps with less of the mystical exploration. Red smoke billows from Mount Yasur's vent, imposing itself across the skyline of the island of Tanna in the South Pacific. The Spirit Mother Yahul is the local name, a source of guidance that filters into the air, informing the codes and traditions of the tribal villages living in the forest. Kastom is what the Melanesian's call their way of life and the narrative respectfully manages to find a perspective from both young and old, men and women.

  Most parts of the island are modernised except for these tiny communities that choose to uphold the old ways,…

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  Review by TajLV ★★★½

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  Film #4 of 31 in my March Around The World | 2020 Challenge (Vanuatu)
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  Teaming up to write, produce and direct this timeless tale of tribal romance, Australian filmmakers Martin Butler and Bentley Dean take us to a South Sea island called Tanna, where arranged marriages are the local custom. The story takes us far from the modern world we know into the depths of a primitive society, blending aspects of "Romeo & Juliet" with an anthropological documentary style.

  The main focus here is on Wawa (Marie Wawa), a female of the Kastom Road tribe who is coming of age in Yakel Village. She lives with her parents and mischievous little sister Selin (Marceline Rofit), who knows Wawa has…

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  Review by Fred Kolb ★★★½ 1

  There is something inherently fascinating about “Tanna”, Australia’s lone Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film in its history. It was an unorthodox contender even in what is by its nature the most heterogeneous category at the Academy Awards. Most of the nominations these days go to European candidates, with the occasional nod to a Latin American or Middle Eastern submission thrown in. An authentic glimpse into an indigenous culture at home in the South Pacific however that was filmed on location on Tanna Island and by all accounts plays out as if the crew had just set up cameras and let these folks go about their daily business undisturbed can only be deemed a novelty. It without question ranks…

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  Review by russman ★★★½ 5

  My choice. My Wawa.