Moana
1926
Documentary
Overview
Robert J. Flaherty’s follow-up to Nanook of the North shifts from the Arctic to the South Seas, portraying Samoan village life with a painterly eye. Blending ethnographic detail with a romanticized “Gauguin idyll,” the film celebrates daily rituals, communal traditions, and the passage into adulthood, suffused with what Flaherty called “pride of beauty, pride of strength.”
Cast
Ta'avale
Moana
Fa'amgase
Moana's Fiancé
Tama
Moana's Father
T'ugaita
Moana's Mother
Pe'a
Moana's Younger Brother
Leupenga
Moana's Older Brother
Directors
Robert Flaherty
Frances H. Flaherty
