Rapa Nui - Rebellion in Paradise
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Rapa Nui - Rebellion in Paradise |
| Original title | Rapa Nui |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1994 |
| length | 107 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Kevin Reynolds |
| script |
Tim Rose Price Kevin Reynolds |
| production |
Kevin Costner Jim Wilson |
| music | Stewart Copeland |
| camera | Stephen F. Windon |
| cut | Peter Boyle |
| occupation | |
| |
Rapa Nui is an adventure film from the year 1994 . It was produced by Kevin Costner .
action
Rapa Nui is set on Easter Island long before it was discovered by Dutch sailors in 1722. According to the film, there are two tribes on Easter Island at this time: the short-eared and the long-eared. The long-ears are the tribe in charge; the short ears are suppressed by them and have to do the work. The long-ears also provide the leader, the so-called bird man. He also commissions the moai, the huge head statues that are seen in large numbers on the island. These moai are supposed to please the gods and get them to send the mythical “white canoe” to save the people from the island, which has been ruined by the overexploitation of nature. It does so regardless of dwindling resources, which makes the situation even worse. The short ears are particularly affected and are becoming increasingly dissatisfied.
One of the long-ears, Noro, falls in love with the short-eared woman Ramana - a relationship that is actually not socially allowed. When Noro asks the bird man for permission to marry her, the latter demands that Ramana be banished 6 moons to the Virgins Cave to prove her love.
In this archaic society the bird man is determined in a competition, the winner of which can determine who will be the next bird man. This is a kind of four-way battle, consisting of running, climbing, swimming and skill. The aim is to fetch an egg from a black tern on a rocky island and give it to the future bird man. Normally only long ears are allowed in this competition; however, Make (a short-eared) requests to participate as well. The bird man allows it, but only on the condition that the short-ears finish a moai on time. After the bird man has already made this concession, Make also demands that he can marry Ramana if he should win. So this duel becomes the ultimate fight between two men: They fight for Ramana and Make for his own life.
The short ears do everything in their power to finish the new moai on time; they even cut down the last trees on the island. But in the end they still make it, and Make is allowed to take part in the competition.
During the competition, one competitor after the other is eliminated because they either lose their egg or have a fatal accident. In the end, only Noro, Make and one other competitor are left. This is at the last hurdle of the fight, a steep face, behind Noro and Make, and grabs the two of them by their feet, preventing them from climbing any further. Noro and Make are therefore forced to work together in order to get ahead. When Make is finally released, he climbs on without helping Noro and is the first to reach the top, but falls in the last few meters and thereby destroys the egg: his life is formally sealed. This result causes some of the short ears to kill themselves. After Noro can free himself, he arrives second and can choose the next bird man: his beloved Ramana. This choice will save the life of his former friend Make, but it would have dire consequences. At the same time, the “white canoe” appears, in the form of an iceberg. Some of the long-ears, including the ex-bird man, flee from Rapa Nui to the supposedly saving iceberg. The long-ears that remained behind are slaughtered by the short-ears a little later, only Noro and Ramana manage to escape. You go out to sea in a canoe. In the credits of the film it is mentioned that the Pitcairn Islands were settled from Easter Island according to archaeological finds.
Reviews
“Gripping drama about the (self-) destruction of a flourishing culture and about an early example of ecological overexploitation; the unreal landscape comes into its own in the sometimes breathtaking scope images. The garish background music and Hollywood clichés in the dramaturgy and figure drawing are annoying. "
“Kevin Reynolds and producer Kevin Costner staged the battle and fall of the islanders in a powerful visual. The story remains a bit too thin. "
background
- In the US, the film is R-rated for some tribal violence and sexuality (accompanied by an adult), probably mainly because of the archaic women's clothing, they are in the film without top to see; in Germany it was released from the age of 12.
- The film was a financial flop, grossing just $ 305,070 at the US box office on a budget of $ 20 million.
Awards
In 1995 the film won the Political Film Society Award for Democracy .
Web links
- Rapa Nui - Rebellion in Paradise in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexander Nortrup, Winfried Schumacher: Tapati Festival on Easter Island: Vogelmann in the Schleudergang In: Spiegel online , February 18, 2013, accessed February 1, 2015.
- ↑ Rapa Nui - Rebellion in Paradise. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Rapa Nui at cinema.de, accessed on November 19, 2012
- ↑ Rapa Nui at boxofficemojo.com, accessed November 19, 2012