Themes: Obsessive Quests, Love Triangles, Star-Crossed Lovers
Main Cast: Jason Scott Lee, Esai Morales, Sandrine Holt, Eru Potaka-Dewes, George Henare
Release Year: 1994
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This is a historical melodrama set against the backdrop of Easter Island's mysterious stone monoliths, directed by Kevin Reynolds and produced by his frequent collaborator, Kevin Costner. Jason Scott Lee stars as Noro, a pre-colonial tribesman living on the remote Pacific island that his people call Rapa Nui. A member of the elite "Long Ears" sect, Noro is to represent his clan in an annual ritual, a dangerous race along rocky cliffs and through shark-infested waters to retrieve the first egg from a sacred bird hatchery that lies offshore. Noro, however, is in love with Ramana (Sandrine Holt), a member of the "Short Ears," a slave class that builds the "Moai," which are giant stone carvings dotting the island. The tribal shaman rules that Noro and Ramana may marry if she spends six months in an isolated cave and he wins the contest. Make (Esai Morales), another Short Ear, is a rival for Ramana and leader of unrest in his exploited caste. Make trains to represent the Short Ears against Noro in the race, but judgment in the contest's result is interrupted by the sudden appearance of an iceberg. Interpreted as an omen, the "white canoe of the gods" leads to a civil war. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Zac Wallace - Haoa; Faenza Reuben; Nathaniel Lees - Long Ear Chief; Pete Smith - Priest; Rawiri Paratene - Priest; Te Whatanui Skimworth - Old Short Ears; Cliff Curtis - Short Ears; Hugh O'Conor - Hitirenga
Credit
Ian Allan - Art Director, Elisabeth Leustig - Casting, John Bloomfield - Costume Designer, K.C. Hodenfield - First Assistant Director, Kevin Reynolds - Director, Peter Boyle - Editor, Barrie M. Osborne - Executive Producer, Guy East - Executive Producer, Stewart Copeland - Composer (Music Score), Peter Frampton - Makeup, George Liddle - Production Designer, Stephen Windom - Cinematographer, Stephen F. Windon - Cinematographer, Kevin Costner - Producer, Jim Wilson - Producer, James Wilson - Producer, Steven Richard Courtley - Special Effects, John D. Egget - Special Effects, Steve Maslow - Sound/Sound Designer, Glen Boswell - Stunts, Tim Rose Price - Screenwriter, Kevin Reynolds - Screenwriter
The historic details of this film are questionable, but the central theme — the destruction of the island's irreplaceable forests — is well authenticated.[citation needed]
Inter-tribal rivalry leads to a competition to erect a huge statue (moai) in record time before Make can take part in the race to retrieve the egg of a Sooty Tern. The reward for winning this race is to rule the island for one year.
Historical accuracy issues
The film can be considered a condensed history of the collapse of the Easter Island civilisation. For example, the tribe cut down all of the remaining trees to move the moai to its site. In the end, Noro and Ramana attempt to flee the island in a special canoe, built by Ramana's father.
The plot mixes elements of two periods: the era of the moai and the later Birdman Cult. If the conflict between the Long Ears and the Short Ears was real, then it was over long before the Birdman Cult began.
The name Rapa Nui, commonly used, may not have been the original native name; that may have been Te Pito te Henua ("the Navel of the World") though there are alternatives.[1][2]
See also
Collapse by Jared Diamond, which details the historic deforestation of Easter Island along with other accounts of how societies collapse or succeed
