Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

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

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Seamus2829 I had the good fortune of coming across this (somewhat)overlooked gem when it played at one my local art cinemas recently. 'Ten Canoes' is one of those films that is an open window to another culture (albiet one that is still regarded as a mystery to Westerners). It is a multi layered story about love,lust,envy,mistaken identity,revenge,etc. What I admired about it is the fact that it's told as a story within a story within a story,and is shot both in black & white & colour (to transpire time). I guess if I have only minor beef with this film is the fact that although it takes place thousands of years ago, it has to pander to toilet humour from time to time to attract the audiences of today. That aside, Ten Canoes can easily take it's place among other films within this genre (Salt Men Of Tibet,Pathfinder--the original Norwegian edition,and not the tepid American remake of recent,as well as others). It's one of those odd little films that you'll probably have to seek out,as it won't play in mainstream cinemas (it contains yards of male,as well as female nudity--although it contains absolutely no graphic sex scenes)

movedout Australia's 2007 Oscar entry is a wry gem of a film that translates our contemporary values schema into a morality play set a thousand years ago in an indigenous tribe settlement somewhere near the Arafura Swamp in Australia's Northern Territory. Iconic Aborigine actor David Gulpilil (of "Walkabout" and "The Last Wave" fame) eloquently and drolly orates the film's triple narrative of native Australian lore that concerns itself with coveting, revenge, sorcery and even a dash of penis envy. Remarkable in its scope and mesmerising in its photography, director Rolf de Heer's idiosyncratic fascination with the interaction of human nature against nature is condensed into a simple but effective lesson of history repeating itself. Possibly venturing to rail against critics of the noble savagery belonging to the Aborigines, "Ten Canoes" allow us the positive enlightenment that comes from observing a different and alien culture operate on levels familiar to us.

mzeilik "Ten Canoes" tells three stories: That of the storyteller himself, that the of hunt for geese and their eggs, and that of the ancestors -- especially their troubles and the consequences of their actions and relationship to the law. Midway through the second story, which bookends the mythical one, that interior storyteller (Elder Brother) states that Younger Brother is beginning to learn a lesson from the telling itself -- patience. Such patience is also required of the viewer, for the pace and structure of both the "today" story and the "mythical" have their an organic unfolding (metaphor: a growing tree) that is quite unlike that of most contemporary Hollywood movies, with their fast call to conflict and continuous conflict.I was struck by the transition of "today's" story from color to black and white as the mythical story is told, the showing of the mythical tale in color (which helped to separate it from the today story), and the dissolve to color in today time as the mythical telling ends.Water is the core of the story, as the river, the swamp, and rain are the images that open and close the movie. The tale begins, ends, and begins again.

efcarter David Gulpilil's voice had a nice originality to it that helped carry this film, unfortunately thou the film was too long and too quiet overall. This is the first time I have fallen asleep in a film and when I visited the ladies room after the film I heard from multiply other women that they fell asleep also or that their husbands fell asleep. I saw this film at the Palm Springs Film Fest where we always talk about the films while waiting in lines and several other folks commented about this film being too slow. The story definitely had some funny moments and told a good moral lesson but the path to get there was too painfully slow. The cinematography was great and the decision to switch from color to black and white, back and forth was very effective. The casting and costume design was very effective. If the story was more complex, or if the characters actually spoke more to each other and there was less of a narrative that might have helped this film hold my interest longer. Some might say I don't have the ability to look deeper into a film, well that might be, but it has to keep me engaged and awake before I can do that. The story is about the older generation teaching the younger generation some life lessons via the method of story telling, so the film ends with a not overtly stated "the moral of the story is"… along the way you get to see some beautiful back country.