Watching 'Fiji and Samoa, the Cannibal Isles' is an odd, uncomfortable time

If you enjoy feeling like a fly on the wall in a century-old classroom, this might be your speed. But if you’re looking for something with a plot or actual characters, you are going to be bored to tears within five minutes. This isn't really a movie so much as it is a series of moving postcards that someone stitched together with very little regard for the people actually being filmed.

It’s hard to watch this without feeling a bit icky. The title alone—The Cannibal Isles—tells you exactly how they wanted you to view these places. It’s all about framing these cultures as wild and strange for a western audience. It reminded me a bit of the tone in The Last Frontier, where the camera treats the environment like a backdrop to be conquered rather than a home.

The footage itself is grainy, shaky, and sometimes surprisingly intimate. There’s a moment where a group of locals are just staring directly into the lens, looking just as confused by the camera as I am by their context. It’s a haunting kind of disconnect. You can almost see them wondering why this person is pointing a box at them.

There isn't a story here. Just a sequence of shots. People walking, boats in the water, a few dances that feel chopped up by bad editing. It feels like the director just kept rolling until the film ran out. Sometimes the frame stays on a blank patch of sand for way too long. It’s weirdly hypnotic in its aimlessness.

I found myself comparing the pacing to the more frantic energy in The Piano Mover, which at least had the decency to be funny on purpose. This film just sits there. It’s dead air, mostly. It doesn't have the narrative urgency you see in something like The Heart of the North, and honestly, that’s probably for the best.

Maybe it’s worth watching if you’re into the history of how we use cameras to define 'the other.' Otherwise, it’s mostly just a relic. It lacks the charm of a silent comedy or the weight of a proper drama. It’s just... there. 🌴

Notes from the viewing:

• The title card is arguably the most exciting part of the whole thing.
• The lighting is inconsistent. Sometimes people are just silhouettes.
• I’m still not sure what the director was trying to prove with that shot of the palm trees.
• It makes Somewhere in Wrong look like a masterclass in complex storytelling.