Movie of the Week

Movie of the Week June 26, 2009

In decades past, when you went to Catholic school, nuns in habits taught you that the Jesuit missionaries in seventeenth century Canada, known as the “Blackrobes,” were heroes who suffered for the faith. Even if they didn’t succeed in converting all the Native peoples, they were still successes in God’s eyes and in the eyes of the Church. In short, they were saints, models for contemplation (and possibly imitation). They were the “good guys.”

The 1991 film Blackrobe, however, takes a different approach. In his account, director Bruce Beresford focuses on a clash of cultures between the French Jesuits and Native peoples. Noted for historical dramas like Breaker Morant, Beresford tries to present the claims of both sides objectively, an approach that has its strengths and its shortcomings.

The story, set in Canada in 1634, goes like this: idealistic young Father LaForgue (played by Lothaire Bluteau) has a tough time getting through to the Hurons, who are highly skeptical of a Blackrobe heaven with no hunting, which excludes their family and friends who haven’t been baptized. It’s not that they can’t understand what he’s saying; it’s just that it doesn’t make sense within the context of their culture. But LaForgue is not one to give up. He travels with the Hurons, enduring their slights and jibes. He’s captured by the Iroquois and tortured, but he finally he makes it to his assigned mission, a desolate frozen place whose denizens are battling an epidemic.

There are no “good guys” or “bad guys” in Blackrobe. The claims of the Jesuits are seen as having equal validity alongside those of the Natives (although the scale may just slightly be tipped in favor of the latter). But we don’t learn much about Jesuits or what makes them tick. This, I think, is one of the film’s few major shortcomings, and would have made it a much richer film.

The movie’s relativism may put off those used to seeing movies like The Keys of the Kingdom or The Mission, where it’s pretty clear who the “good guys” are. This approach may turn some people off, but still it has to be said that the movie is a fair attempt to objectively portray a fascinating period in history. And for that reason I would recommend it as worth seeing.


Browse Our Archives