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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Bird of Paradise (1932)

An American romantic adventure directed by King Vidor.
An American boat arrives at an island in the south Pacific. The islanders greet them on canoes and when a shark approaches, one of the sailors tries to catch it but gets pulled into the water when caught in his fishing line. An island woman saves him who turns out to be the daughter of the chief and the two fall in love against the will of the tribe. They try to stay together, but continue to encounter difficulties.
For an old film, this looked alright. The acting and editing didn't seem weird at any points, but the quality of the audio and video definitely reflected the era. The plot was very traditional and the characters fit well into it's framework. I noticed that the American man was teaching the Pacific Islander woman English, but not learning her language. This is how it would happen in real life, but not the way that things should work. I actually liked the vintage style or flavor of the film, as it reflected 1930s American pop culture's romanticized notion of island life. I'm rating it adequate because I consider it to be well made and a reflection of the time in which it was created.