Virgins of Bali (1932) review - A weird, slow time capsule

Is this worth watching today? Honestly, only if you are obsessed with old travel documentaries or want a weird, dusty time capsule. Anyone looking for actual dramatic pacing like in One Way Out will be bored to tears in about five minutes. 🌴

It is a 1932 look at Bali that feels half like an educational school film and half like tourists staring at things they do not quite understand. The film focuses on two young women, Ni Wayan Ugambon and Ni Wayan Tagai, as they go about their days before their wedding ceremonies.

Mostly, this means we watch them carry giant baskets on their heads and walk down dirt paths. The camera just lingers on them for so long.

Sometimes they look directly at the lens with this expression that says, "Can I please go home now?" It is honestly the most relatable part of the whole thing.

I noticed a scruffy dog in the background of one village scene that looks incredibly confused by the film crew. I spent about three minutes just watching that dog instead of the actual subject. 🐶

The narrator has that classic, super-stuffy 1930s voice. You know the one—where every single word sounds like it is being read by a school headmaster who has never laughed in his life.

He explains the local customs with this weird mix of genuine wonder and slight, old-school condescension. It is pretty awkward to listen to now.

It makes you think of how other films from that era, like The Heart of Salome, handled drama, whereas here the "drama" is literally just people preparing rice. It is incredibly low-key.

There is a scene where they are preparing ceremonial food and the editing gets really choppy. It feels like the cameraman ran out of film mid-shoot or just got distracted by something else.

But there is a strange, quiet beauty to it if you just let yourself zone out. The grainy black-and-white footage of the trees and the temples has a neat texture.

It is definitely not a masterpiece, and some parts get really repetitive. If you want high energy, you are much better off hunting down Hair Trigger Stuff.

Still, as a slice of forgotten history, it is kind of neat. Just do not expect any big cinematic moments.