Tabu (1931)
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Tabu Movie Review
Tabu is a 1931 silent adventure film directed by F.W. Murnau. It is his last film and a strong example of his strong directorial style.
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“The tabu is upon us“
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Tabu is a docufiction meaning that it is executed as an adventure fiction in a very documentary-like style being very grounded in reality. It explores the island of Bora Bora and its people stupendously for its time and I particularly admired how he cast for once real indigenous and native people from this area. There was no whitewashing to be found here whatsoever leading to the first truly modern film in that regard.
The characters aren’t too memorable, but they are likable and well realized. The actors are basically unknowns so they really did give strong performances in spite of their obvious lack of training or experience in the acting business.
The storytelling is the film’s most troublesome aspect. I did like that it was simplistic in approach as I always prefer that over more complicated storylines. However, the film is simply too melodramatic at times and overly slow at other times. The first half is not as memorable as the second, more dramatic, more interesting part.
Tabu is wonderfully directed by F.W. Murnau who here directed the film with such great style, flare and obvious care for the place and its people. It’s a shame that he died in a car accident before this film’s release. He died so young and unfortunately we never got to see more films from him. He’s a great director and I loved everything that I’ve seen from him so far. Tabu is no ‘Sunrise’ of course, but it’s still a respectable part of his filmography.
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The film’s gorgeously shot, simply amazing is the cinematography. It entirely deserved its Oscar win for cinematography as the film is stark in its black-and-white photography, very light and with particularly strong camera movements and many artistic shots at display. The score is also fantastic and I particularly appreciated how he made a silent film in 1931 when they were long gone. He was a perfect director for this medium.
Tabu is definitely simplistic in its storyline and the first half is not as memorable as the second one, but it’s so authentic in its casting, interesting in its setting and phenomenally directed by F.W. Murnau in what was unfortunately his final directorial effort. The standout aspect is the amazing, deservedly Oscar-winning cinematography.
