Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

detrog A victim of razzing when new and ever since. However, breathtakingly filmed, especially the brutal tribal competition. One of 4 films (and the most unclad) that Jason Scott Lee made in a short time, and even more athletic than his Bruce Lee biopic, 'Dragon', although dramatically J.S. Lee's most memorable performance was as the Inuit halfbreed Avik in 'Map of the Human Heart.' Sandrine Holt as his beloved is luminous, while Esai Morales is the villain-- -again. A plot-nudging iceberg is obviously a construct but only a brief story device before it floats away. Sadly, the stateside DVD has been withdrawn, leaving only South Korean copies (in English, however) with some manufacturing glitches fore and aft for collectors unwilling to settle for used merchandise..

AInK You have to look at this film differently; of course you can not take what is being showed to us as the true history of the easter island, but you also can't look at it as just some failed flick. No, this movie is taking as little as we know and fills the rest with partly far fetched, partly very realistic developments of events. We know, there is no more forest there, we know they've built these statues, we know that they couldn't survive. It would be different if any of them would have written a diary of the events taking place, but that hasn't happened. Whether long or short ears, whether upper or lower class: To build the statues they most likely used all the little forest they had left... surely an act of hopelessness... that in such a situation of distress there is competition and different ideas on how to react is obvious. The "egg"-race is also very believable. Less likely is the story about the iceberg... while they do indeed show up there from time to time the particular timing is over the top. With what they have filled in the blanks has already been discussed: Competition between two rival tribes, political problems that eventually not only end up in the deforestation and the ecological disaster related to it, but also degrade of a civilization leading them backwards even as far as cannibalism. History has shown what can cause uproars: from class-systems, lack of food, but also fight over a woman. Here all three aspects have been mingled up, blurring what we do not know anyways. And as far as nudity goes: guess what - we all born that way - believe it or not! As far as language goes: I had preferred if they tried to talk in some sort of made up language and then subtitled. This movie is a gem in its own right, but you will have to watch it - sceptically, yet with a mind open for fantasy - for yourself to see if you agree or not.

Mike The studios should be applauded when they take on a movie that involves an all new setting and topic, and encouraged to do so more often. We have plenty of stupid eye candy car chase movies and murder mystery flicks for those who enjoy that stuff. Rapa Nui goes somewhere else entirely. The road less travelled as it were.Set on Easter Island, isolated as it is literally thousands of nautical miles from its nearest neighbour, the movie fleshes out the most pivital time in that islands history, as we understand it from the archeological evidence available. The residents had every reason to believe they represented the only life in the universe. Those of the population with vision must have been appalled to watch their religeous zealots engineering the destruction of the only habitat in the world. The protagonist seems to be one of those who sees the folly and wants to prevent it. ** spoiler coming?**I am not the first to note that this film weakens its message by allowing, even fostering unintended humour at places where it is not appropriate. The head engineer of statue construction falling to the ground and flailing in a tantrum when the chief glibly states the statue, carved and transported with many months of tremendous labour is dismissed and ordered broken up as being "too small", and that chief, when he complains to his obviously self serving and manipulative with doctor/adviser,"I've been coughing up and vomiting blood lately. Do you think that means anything?" "No, replies the adviser, it's nothing". It seems as though the screenwriter thinks the viewer must have some levity to break up the serious subject matter. The humour takes away much more than it adds to the story however and hearing a couple of audience members guffawing from time to time when we should be sympathising with the frustration of the main character has the effect of pulling the rug out from under the mood. Even the 'last cutting' scene is overblown and rendered campy when this scene, of which perhaps the most empathy might have been drawn of any in the entire film, is played out almost as satire. **End of spoiler**So much for the 'It could have been better' part, the movie does deserve kudos for tackling new ground. The cinematography is beautiful, the love story plausable and the main characters earn our support. Bravo for being daring enough to make this flick. I just wish it had been distributed.

Champion2k I have no wish to comment on the historical accuracy or otherwise of this film, as it is the story that held me enthralled, not the attention to fact.The first time I saw this film, I nearly had to pick my jaw up from the floor. A hollywood movie.....that doesn't spoonfeed me the plot like some overbearing nanny? An original (for a big studio) plot device? Whew, let me just sit down for a minute. Here's how it normally goes: Hero (young, handsome and likeable) must compete with rival (villanous, evil rogue) in contest of high stakes. Guess the outcome. But in this underrated gem of a story, we find two equally heroic protagonists, all thoughts of friendship lost as they are forced into a dangerous competition of courage and strength. One, fighting for the woman he loves, the other for his life. This forces the viewer to watch in an agonized state of uncertainty. Who do I want to win? Who deserves it more? What will happen to the loser? This was the first film in a long time that truly forced me to get involved with the characters, not in a cliched good versus evil kind of way, but a good versus good "how the hell are they going to get out of this one?" kind of way. Okay, so some aspects of the film do not deliver with the same power, and some of the accents do tend to waver a little, but the beautifully constructed central storyline held me until the end.