2:41 mins, b&w, silent – French intertitles.
Production: Pathé-Review. Available in the Gaumont-Pathé Archives, PR1928 6 2.
Background: A very modest film but one that may be of some historical interest in that it is possibly the first film to represent the Wayú (Goajiro). Although the subjects are not specifically identified as Wayú, they are described as indigenous people and the location, close to Rio Hacha, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, lies on the western boundary of the geographical area occupied by the Wayú. Their dress, physical appearance and house style are also all typically Wayú.
Film content: the film consists of no more than a few static shots taken in and around a small settlement, followed by a portrait of a group of men standing in a general landscape (with some children larking about behind) and a sack being loaded onto a boat at the shore. An element of narrative closure is then imparted by a final classical shot of a tree silhouetted against a sunset.
The limited nature of the film itself contrasts markedly with the elaborate title frame.
Text: Saler 1988
You must be logged in to post a comment.