Themes: White People Among Indians, Culture Clash, Missionaries
Main Cast: Lothaire Bluteau, Aden Young, Sandrine Holt, August Schellenberg, Tantoo Cardinal
Release Year: 1991
Country: CA/AU
Run Time: 101 minutes
Plot
Adapted by Brian Moore from his own novel, The Black Robe is a sprawling recreation of a turbelent period in Canadian history. In 1634, Jesuit missionary Father Laforgue (Lothair Bluteau) arrives in the New World, hoping to convert the Huron Indian tribe to Catholicism-and, incidentally, to expedite the French colonization of Quebec. Laforgue is regarded with a combination of warmth and wariness by the natives, who refer to Laforgue and his fellow priests as "black robes". Offering his services as both guide and friend is Algonquin chief Chomina (August Schellenberg). The by-the-book Laforgue does little to endear himself to the Indians-one of whom, a holy man, labels the priest as a demon who will bring nothing but death and destruction. The one who suffers most is Chomina, the man who most desires peaceful coexistence. In an ironic coda, we learn that the "black robes" have set into motion the fall of the Hurons, simply by imposing their Christian values upon them. Black Robe has been compared to Dances with Wolves, but the films do not share the same philosophy: while the idealistic hero of Wolves strives to understand and appreciate his new Indian comrades, the pious protagonist of Black Robe has only conversion in mind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Australian director Bruce Beresford continued his fascination with clashes of cultures and beliefs in this historical drama. Beresford had previously enjoyed much success exploring the same theme in such films as Breaker Morant (1980), Tender Mercies (1982), The Fringe Dwellers (1986), and the much-loved, Oscar-winning Driving Miss Daisy (1989). None of these well-regarded efforts could have prepared him for the public's indifference to Black Robe. Coming on the heels of the hugely successful, politically correct revisionism of Dances with Wolves (1990), the unflinching Black Robe, which presents its characters as ugly, violent, fearful, and complexly motivated, may have seemed too reactionary and too grim. While it took in slightly more than eight million dollars at the box office and did not get its director any honorary tribal memberships, many historians and critics hailed the veracity of the film, and it slowly attained cult classic status. The stunningly high level of attention to anthropological detail extends to such minutiae as how the Huron and Algonquin ate, hunted, traveled, courted, mated, slept, procreated, and even how they fulfilled certain bodily functions (much to the main character's dismay). Despite its lack of financial success and its controversial bleakness, Black Robe belongs in the elite ranks of such respected films about Native Americans as Little Big Man (1970), A Man Called Horse (1970), and Smoke Signals (1998). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Frank Wilson - Father Jerome; Billy Two Rivers - Ougebmat; Lawrence Bayne - Neehatin; Harrison Liu - Awondoie; Yvan Labelle - Mestigoit; Brenda Adams - Iroquois Torture Woman; Helen Atkinson - Algonquin Tribe Member; Marco Bacon - Montagnais; Annie Bearskin - Algonquin Tribe Member; Cordelia Beresford - Mile La Fontaine; Jonathon Blacksmith - Algonquin Tribe Member; Jean-Jacques Blanchet - Workman; James Bobbish - Ondesson; Rodrigue Boivin - Algonquin Tribe Member; Don Brisebois - Iroquois Guard; Jean Brousseau - Champlain; Joseph Campean - Algonquin Tribe Member; Jean-Raymond Chales - Workman; Deano Clavet - Mercier; Wesley Cote - Oujita; Earl Danyluk - Algonquin Tribe Member; Valerie de Contie - Algonquin Tribe Member; Joe de Laronde - Tall Painted Iroquois; Arnold Eyah-Saulteux - Algonquin Tribe Member; Waylon Hare - Algonquin Tribe Member; Zoe Hopkins - Algonquin Tribe Member; Walter Jacobs - Algonquin Tribe Member; Eric Johnston - Algonquin Tribe Member; Denis Lacroix - Taratande; Linlyn Lue - She Manitou; Bonfield Marcoux - Domergue; Minor Mustain - 1st Iroquois; Mirya Obomsawin - Algonquin Tribe Member; Wanda Obomsawin - Pregnant Woman; George Pachanos - Iroquois Leader; Jean-Pierre Perusse - Tallevant; Denis Plante - Musician; Gilles Plante - Older Workman; Claude Prefontaine - Old Priest; Guy Provencher - Old Iroquois Member; Jean-Baptiste Raphael - Iroquois Elder; Alison Reid - Iroquois Torture Woman; Gerard Soler - Masse; Doreen Stevens - Algonquin Tribe Member; Francois Tasse - Father Bourque; John Tenasco - Algonquin Tribe Member; Patrick Tenasco - Montagnais; Daniel Thonon - Musician; Gordon Tootoosis - Old Aenons; Raoul Trujillo - Kiotseaton; Marthe Turgeon - Laforgue's Mother; Roger Wylde - Algonquin Tribe Member; Paul Stewart - Workman
Credit
Gavin Mitchell - Art Director, Eric Norlen - Associate Producer, Renee April - Costume Designer, John Hay - Costume Designer, Pedro Gandol - First Assistant Director, Bruce Beresford - Director, Tim Wellburn - Editor, Jake Eberts - Executive Producer, Denis Heroux - Executive Producer, Brian Moore - Executive Producer, Georges Delerue - Composer (Music Score), Linda Gill - Makeup, Herbert Pinter - Production Designer, Peter James - Cinematographer, Robert Lantos - Producer, Sue Milliken - Producer, Stéphane Reichel - Producer, Réal Proulx - Set Designer, Louis Craig - Special Effects, Gary Wilkins - Sound/Sound Designer, Minor Mustain - Stunts, Brian Moore - Screenwriter, Brian Moore - Book Author
