Tanna (film)

Last updated

Tanna
Tanna (film).png
Film poster
Directed by Martin Butler
Bentley Dean [1]
Screenplay byMartin Butler
Bentley Dean
John Collee [2]
Produced byCarolyn Johnson
Bentley Dean
Martin Butler [3]
Starring Marie Wawa
Mungau Dain
CinematographyBentley Dean [4]
Edited by Tania Nehme [2]
Music by Antony Partos [5]
Distributed by Lightyear Entertainment
Release date
  • 7 September 2015 (2015-09-07)(Venice)
Running time
100 minutes
Countries Australia
Vanuatu
Language Southwest Tanna
Box office$69,961 [6]

Tanna is a 2015 Australian-Ni-Vanuatu [4] film set on the island of Tanna in the South Pacific, depicting the true story of a couple who decided to marry for love, rather than obey their parents' wishes. [7] Starring Marie Wawa and Mungau Dain, the film is based on an actual marriage dispute. [8]

Contents

Tanna was the first film to be shot entirely on location in Vanuatu. [9] The film won the Audience Award Pietro Barzisa at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. [10] It was selected as the Australian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, [8] [11] and was nominated for the award in January 2017, the first time Australia's submission received a nomination [12]

Plot

On the island of Tanna, people following the Kastom have always enforced arranged marriages. The people of Kastom Road face sporadic conflicts with the Imedin tribe, while two followers of Kastom, Dain and Wawa, continue a secret love affair. Wawa's young sister Selin is impudent, stealing a penis sheath and running into the wilderness, berated for entering the forbidden zone where the Imedin once massacred their people. To teach Selin respect, her grandfather, who is also the tribe's shaman, takes her to the spiritual site of Yahul and the volcanoes. There, the Imedin attack the shaman, clubbing him, leaving him mortally wounded. Selin escapes and runs back to her people, who retrieve the shaman, afraid that his inevitable death will leave them vulnerable. The Imedin are summoned to the village to make peace. They trade pigs, which the shaman's murderers club to death just as they had the shaman, and Wawa is promised for marriage into the Imedin tribe.

Despite the arranged marriage, Wawa and Dain continue their affair. The elders learn of this and plead with Wawa to give up the relationship. The elder women sympathize with Wawa for having to go through an arranged marriage but tell her that respect for her elders and the law will lead to happiness. Her peers also tell Wawa that she is not the only one whose interests are at stake. If the Imedin lose Wawa as a promised bride, they will likely seek revenge. Wawa reveals that she has already had sex with Dain, meaning she will be unacceptable to the Imedin anyway. Disgraced, Dain is exiled from the village. The elders continue to urge Wawa to accept her arranged marriage, pointing to Prince Philip to prove that arranged marriage means love.

Wawa joins Dain in the wilderness and hides on the side of the volcano while their people and the Imedin both search for them. The two eat poison mushrooms. Their people bury them, and the elders agree that recognition of love marriage must be added to the Kastom to keep their culture alive. [13]

Production

The film was shot entirely on location in and around the village of Yakel on Tanna Island. [14] Co-director Bentley Dean lived with his family for seven months in Tanna. Most of the cast played their own roles in the film, [15] [A] and Dain was cast because he was considered the village's most handsome man. [15] The film's dialogue is shot in the Southwest Tanna (Nivhaal dialect) and Nafe (Kwamera, South Tanna) languages, which are used in Yakel. [14] [16] The cast members did not regard the filming as being difficult because their roles were "performing what we were used to in our daily life." [17] A copy of Ten Canoes was screened as an example for the actors. [18]

This is Martin Butler and Dean’s third collaboration, after the documentaries Contact and First Footprints. [19] Dean came to Vanuatu in 2003 to research a story on the John Frum movement for Dateline and wanted to return there to create something larger. Dean wanted to tell a local story and give his children a chance to live in the village, and developed the storyline in collaboration with the Yakel people. [20]

Cast

Actor Mungau Dain died in January 2019, aged 24, due to sepsis following a leg injury. He was married and had three children. [21] [22]

Screening

Just after Cyclone Pam, a special screening was held for the tribe. [23] The film has screened at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, [24] where it won the Audience Award Pietro Barzisa, [10] and Bentley Dean was awarded Best Cinematographer, [20] at the BFI London Film Festival, [25] and at the 2015 Adelaide Film Festival. [4]

Reception

Tanna has received critical acclaim. Tanna has an approval rating of 92% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 39 reviews, and an average rating of 7.46/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Powerful visuals, naturalistic performances, and economic filmmaking combine to bring added resonance to Tanna's impactful story and fresh cultural perspective. [26] It has a score of 75% on Metacritic, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [27]

Kenneth Turan declared Tanna to be one of the best films about a South Pacific people. [28] The Guardian critic Luke Buckmaster gave it four stars, and credited the novice actors as "magnetic" and praised the cinematography, saying, "Tanna has a warm, shimmering vitality. Like the trees and the birds, the frame feels alive". [7] Variety 's Richard Kuipers highlighted the aesthetics of the setting and shots, declaring "Visuals of lush forests, pristine beaches and barren black earth surrounding the volcano are beautiful without ever looking like a travelogue". [5] In The Washington Post , Stephanie Merry wrote the story was uncomplicated but the setting was spectacular, remarking "There’s something thrilling about a movie that introduces us to a corner of the world we never knew existed". [29] For The Globe and Mail , Brad Wheeler compared it to Romeo and Juliet and declared "Emotional notes are hit neatly and refreshingly". [30]

Glenn Kenny wrote a negative review in The New York Times , concluding, "Despite its best efforts, Tanna drifts into a mode of exoticism that renders it an ultimately frustrating experience". [31]

Accolades

AwardCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef(s)
AACTA Awards
(6th)		 Best Film Martin Butler, Bentley Dean and Carolyn JohnsonNominated [32]
Best Direction Martin Butler and Bentley DeanNominated
Best Cinematography Bentley DeanNominated
Best Original Music Score Antony Partos Won
Best Sound James Ashton, Emma Bortignon and Martin ButlerNominated
Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film Martin Butler and Bentley DeanNominated [33] [34]
African-American Film Critics Association Best Foreign FilmWon [35]
ASE Award Best Editing in a Feature Film Tania Nehme Won [36]
FCCA Awards Best FilmMartin Butler, Bentley Dean and Carolyn JohnsonNominated
Best MusicAntony PartosWon
Best CinematographyBentley DeanNominated
Best EditorTania NehmeNominated

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Jimmy Joseph Nako, the film’s cultural director: "The chief played the chief, the medicine man played the medicine man, the warriors played the warriors." [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanuatu</span> Country in Oceania

Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 km (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.

<i>Shakespeare in Love</i> 1998 film by John Madden

Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 period romantic comedy film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck and Judi Dench. The film depicts a fictional love affair involving playwright William Shakespeare (Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Paltrow) while Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet. Several characters are based on historical figures, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to Shakespeare's plays.

<i>Romeo + Juliet</i> 1996 film directed by Baz Luhrmann

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet is a 1996 romantic crime film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It is a modernized adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name, albeit still utilizing Shakespearean English. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the title roles of two teenagers who fall in love, despite their being members of feuding families. Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Miriam Margolyes, Harold Perrineau, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino and Diane Venora also star in supporting roles. It is the third major film version of the play, following adaptations by George Cukor in 1936 and by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia Hussey</span> British actress (born 1951)

Olivia Hussey is a British-Argentine actress. Her awards include a Golden Globe Award and a David di Donatello Award. The daughter of Argentine opera singer Andrés Osuna, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires but spent most of her early life in her mother's native England. She aspired to become an actress at a young age and studied drama for five years at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Frum</span> Figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu

John Frum is a figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. He is often depicted as an American World War II serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the people if they follow him. In a 1960 BBC documentary, British broadcaster David Attenborough asked the locals what Frum looked like and was told "'E look like you. 'E got white face. 'E tall man. 'E live 'long South America."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanna (island)</span> Island in Tafea Province of Vanuatu

Tanna is an island in southern Vanuatu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Harris</span> British actor

Sean Harris is an English actor. He played Ian Curtis in 24 Hour Party People (2002), Micheletto Corella in The Borgias (2011–2013), Fifield in Prometheus (2012), Solomon Lane in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), Philip in Possum (2018), William Gascoigne in The King (2019) and Henry Peter Teague / Peter Morley in The Stranger (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ni-Vanuatu</span> Melanesian ethnic groups native to the island country of Vanuatu

Ni-Vanuatu is a large group of closely related Melanesian ethnic groups native to the island country of Vanuatu. As such, ni-Vanuatu are a mixed ethnolinguistic group with a shared ethnogenesis that speak a multitude of languages.

Futuna is an island in the Tafea province of Vanuatu. It is the easternmost island in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Philip movement</span> Religious sect followed by Kastom people in Vanuatu

The Prince Philip movement is a religious sect followed by the Kastom people around the villages of Yaohnanen and Yakel on the southern island of Tanna in Vanuatu. It is a cargo cult of the Yaohnanen tribe, who believe in the divinity of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021), consort to Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022).

<i>Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss</i> 2006 film by Phil Nibbelink

Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss is a 2006 American animated romantic fantasy comedy-drama film loosely following the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The film is about two star-crossed sea lions, Romeo and Juliet, who fall in love against the wishes of their warring families. It was released in Spain in mid-2006 and on October 27 in the United States.

<i>Romeo and Juliet</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by Renato Castellani

Romeo and Juliet is a 1954 film adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy of the same name. It is directed and written for the screen by Renato Castellani, and stars Laurence Harvey as Romeo and newcomer Susan Shentall as Juliet, with Flora Robson, Mervyn Johns, Bill Travers, Sebastian Cabot, Enzo Fiermonte and John Gielgud. A British and Italian co-production, it was released in the United Kingdom by General Film Distributors on September 1, 1954.

<i>Romeo and Juliet</i> on screen Adaptations of Shakespeares play

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet may be one of the most-screened plays of all time. The most notable theatrical releases were George Cukor's multi-Oscar-nominated 1936 production Romeo and Juliet, Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, and Baz Luhrmann's 1996 MTV-inspired Romeo + Juliet. The latter two were both, at the time, the highest-grossing Shakespeare films. Cukor featured the mature actors Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard as the teenage lovers while Zeffirelli populated his film with beautiful young people, and Baz Luhrmann produced a heavily cut fast-paced version aimed at teenage audiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Vanuatu</span>

Christianity is the largest religion in Vanuatu. Vanuatu is an archipelago made up of 13 larger islands, and approximately 70 smaller surrounding islands, each home to multitudes of diverse cultural and religious communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Vanuatu</span>

This article presents an overview of the culture of Vanuatu.

<i>Romeo & Juliet</i> (2013 film) 2013 film by Carlo Carlei

Romeo & Juliet is a 2013 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy. Written by Julian Fellowes and directed by Carlo Carlei, it stars Douglas Booth, Hailee Steinfeld, Damian Lewis, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ed Westwick, Stellan Skarsgård and Paul Giamatti. The film opened in the United Kingdom and the United States on 11 October 2013. While remaining faithful to the original plot, it uses only some of the dialogue written by Shakespeare. This has led to several critics denouncing the film on the grounds that it loses the essence of the play. The film grossed $3 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catrin Stewart</span> Welsh actress

Catrin Stewart is a Welsh actress, known for playing Jenny Flint in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (2011–2014), Emma Morris in the Sky One comedy drama Stella (2012–2017) and PC Gina Jenkins in the S4C crime drama Bang (2017–2020). She also portrayed Lily in Misfits (2010–2011).

Tania Nehme is an Australian film editor. She has edited a number of films directed by Rolf de Heer and won and been nominated for many awards for her editing work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mungau Dain</span> Vanuatu actor

Mungau Dain was a ni-Vanuatu actor and villager who starred in the 2015 Australian-Vanuatuan film, Tanna. Dain, who had never acted before, was cast in the film alongside Marie Wawa, another Yakel villager, and other local untrained actors. Tanna, which is based on the true story of a ni-Vanuatu couple in 1987 who committed suicide after their tribes refused to allow them to marry, won the Audience Award Pietro Barzisa at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival in 2015 and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. Dain, who reportedly had never seen a movie before his casting, traveled internationally in support of the film, including to Australia, Los Angeles and Venice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Wawa</span> Vanuatu actress

Marie Wawa is a ni-Vanuatu actress and villager who starred in the 2015 Australian-Vanuatuan film, Tanna. The film, which was the first to be shot entirely in Vanuatu, won two major prizes at the 2015 Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. Wawa appears in the lead role opposite Mungau Dain as two star-crossed lovers.

References

  1. ↑ "Australian movie Tanna wins two major awards at Venice film festival". the Guardian.
  2. 1 2 Maricris Faderugao (5 November 2015). "'Tanna' brings Vanuatu's Shakespearean tale to Australia". International Business Times AU.
  3. ↑ Screenaustralia.gov.au
  4. 1 2 3 "Tanna – Adelaide Film Festival 2015". adelaidefilmfestival.org. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  5. 1 2 Richard Kuipers (9 September 2015). "'Tanna' Review: The First Film Shot in Vanuatu – Variety". Variety . Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "Tanna (2015) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  7. 1 2 Luke Buckmaster (5 November 2015). "Tanna review – volcanic South Pacific love story shot entirely in Vanuatu". The Guardian . Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Australia selects 'Tanna' as foreign-language Oscar contender". SBS. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  9. ↑ Harmon, Steph (6 January 2019). "Mungau Dain, Tanna star and 'Vanuatu's Brad Pitt', dies after untreated leg infection". Guardian Australia . Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  10. 1 2 Settimana Internazionale della Critica. "All Awards 2015 announced: Audience Award Pietro Barzisa to Tanna by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler". sicvenezia.it. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Frater, Patrick (23 August 2016). "Australia Selects 'Tanna' as Foreign-Language Oscar Contender". Variety . Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Samuelson, Kate (24 January 2017). "Here Are the 2017 Oscar Nominations". Time . Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "The young people here will carry our future. We must listen to them to keep Kastom strong. We have to find a way to make love marriage part of Kastom. No more deaths. Our Kastom burns like that fire. With every death the fire becomes weaker. I agree with Charlie about love marriage. We must embrace any idea that keeps Kastom burning strong."" https://www.scripts.com/script.php?id=tanna_19385&p=8
  14. 1 2 "Tanna: Yakel community's way of life unchanged by Hollywood acclaim". ABC News (Australia) . 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  15. 1 2 3 Kathy Marks (11 September 2015). "Big-screen debut for Pacific Island tribe who regard Prince Philip as a god" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
  16. ↑ Lamont Lindstrom (5 November 2015). "Award-winning film Tanna sets Romeo and Juliet in the south Pacific". The Conversation Australia .
  17. ↑ Bodey, Michael (31 October 2015). "Aussies put tribe in the picture on world of film". Weekend Australian. Canberra. p. 5. ProQuest   1728288604.
  18. ↑ "Australian film Tanna to tell Romeo and Juliet-like tale in Melanesia". SBS Movies.
  19. ↑ Heraldsun.com.au
  20. 1 2 Ben Bohane (15 September 2015). ""Tanna" film a hit at the Venice festival". Pacific Institute of Public Policy . Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Harmon, Steph (7 January 2019). "Mungau Dain, Tanna star and 'Vanuatu's Brad Pitt', dies after untreated leg infection". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  22. ↑ Ives, Mike (10 January 2019). "Mungau Dain, Unlikely Pacific Island Film Star, Dies at 24". New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  23. ↑ Garry Maddox. "Tanna: the ancient Vanuatu tribe who had never watched a film now star in one". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  24. ↑ "La Biennale di Venezia – 8 September". labiennale.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016.
  25. ↑ Paul Heath (17 October 2015). "The 2015 BFI London Film Festival winners announced". The Hollywood News. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "Tanna". Rotten Tomatoes .
  27. ↑ "Tanna". Metacritic . Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  28. ↑ Turan, Kenneth (22 September 2016). "Review: Tanna is a smart, refreshing story of star-crossed lovers". The Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  29. ↑ Merry, Stephanie (29 September 2016). "'Tanna': A real-life 'Romeo and Juliet,' set amid warring tribes". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  30. ↑ Wheeler, Brad (2 June 2017). "Review: Tanna is a smart, refreshing story of star-crossed lovers". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  31. ↑ Kenny, Glenn (15 September 2016). "Review: In 'Tanna,' Lovers Are Torn Apart to Keep Tribal Peace". The New York Times . Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  32. ↑ "Hacksaw Ridge leads with 13 AACTA nominations". Sky News. 27 October 2016. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  33. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (24 January 2017). "Oscars: 'La La Land' Ties Record With 14 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 24 January 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  34. ↑ "Oscar Nominations: Complete List". Variety . 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  35. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (12 December 2016). "'Moonlight' Named Best Picture by the African American Film Critics Association". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  36. ↑ "Awards - Australian Screen EditorsAustralian Screen Editors".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.