In the Land of the War Canoes (1914)

There is a lot of watching boats in this one

In the Land of War Canoes is what I imagine you'd call a docudrama directed by Edward S. Curtis.  The director was a photographer who spent his life capturing the American Indians rituals and culture and this film represents a reenactment of how life might have been for the natives.

The basic plot follows a love story between a young Indian man and woman.  Through a tale of love and revenge, Curtis shows us traditional canoes, costumes, dances and rituals of his subject.

And bores me to tears in the process.

There is nothing about this that works.  Curtis' focus is entirely on the documentary side of his film, with almost no attention on the drama.  Advertising for this might have read "Marvel as a man stands on a shore watching a canoe paddle away!" or "Thrill to the sight of a Native American sleeping!"  The story is a way for Curtis to get from one traditional dance to the next.  It may work for a high school social studies class, but it is not something you need to experience if it's not for a grade.


The movie also suffers from the same problem as L'Inferno: the title cards all tell you exactly what is about to happen, then you watch it.  The movie would be incompehensible without the cards, but they did not have to be so literal.

I have to say something about the sound in this.  Apparently, in the 1970s, the movie was restored and a sound engineer recorded the sounds and music of Kwakiutl Indians. They also recorded sounds of canoes on the water and birds overhead.  This was added to the restored footage (I imagine) in the hope of making it sound authentic. Instead, it comes across as though the cast of Mystery Science Theater is talking in a foreign tongue over the whole movie.  Very annoying and distracting.

I can't recommend this one to anyone.  I am sure a lot of it is authentic, but it's not engaging. At all.

Watched on DVD from Netflix
Picture from Canadian Heritage Film Festival