Marshall Islands: Yokwe Bartowe (2010)
I mentioned this film many posts back as the kind of thing I was hoping for from each country; the people of the Marshall Islands were unhappy that they hadn’t been represented on film. There were many things they could have done, but they chose the most practical course of action: they made their own film.
If you’ve been reading these posts from the beginning, I hope you have something of an understanding of me by now. It should come as no surprise that I am in love with the people of the Marshall Islands. It’s very easy to say “I could do better”. We all do that. To actually get off your backside and then do it is another matter entirely. I’ve never made a feature film. There’s a level of cooperation and proactivity here that takes my breath away. This isn’t just a 90 minute drama in which very little happens – half the community seem to appear. There are scenes in schools, appearances by mythical demon birds, a location shoot in the USA, sequences in houses. There’s a chase, magic and an airport. There’s a missing child. This isn’t an unambitious film.
Is it a cinematic masterpiece?
Of course not! Viewed against a mainstream studio picture made with the full resources of an established company it's a terrible film! But this wasn't made by a studio; it was made by people without any of those resources, and on those terms it works well.
The vast majority of the issues I have with this are budgetary. It wasn’t made by professionals, and that shows in surprising places. Direction is fine – no issue with that. In fact, the direction is impressive throughout. It’s not as showy as you’d expect it to be (because if complete amateurs do anything it’s usually to try too hard), and is instead remarkably “normal”. The direction works. The editing isn’t great – a lot of this could be slightly tighter, and some of the cutting is to angles that don’t quite work – but I’m saying “not great” in comparison with cutting by Schoonmaker, Hunt or Murch. I’m not comparing the editing here with that of your Auntie Edie showing you her summer vacation. So while I seem critical, I’m actually saying this can be viewed alongside the greats. It’s not as good as them, because how could it be? But it’s not actually that far off, particularly considering the resources.
The same applies to sound. The sound is terrible – but that’s in comparison to something like Skywalker sound. In terms of amateur filmmaking, this is Skywalker sound quality. This even stretches to the cast. The cast are not professional actors. But they’re also not terrible actors – they’re not actors at all, and although they struggle with the occasional line, for the most part they give performances that never seem anything less than real. I believe in these people despite the rather extreme nature of the plot. I certainly believe in the Marshall Islands, because this is very clearly of the Marshall Islands. This is about the mythology of the islands, the people of the islands and the locations of the islands. It’s never less than credible and makes the most of its setting. The scenes in people’s houses work because they clearly are really people’s houses. It’s real.
In fact, the only real issue I have with the film is the running time. There’s simply not quite enough plot to justify 90 minutes. I understand why they wanted the film to come in at the 90 minute mark, but this could easily lose a good thirty minutes without it impacting the story at all. But if that’s the only real criticism I can make of the first feature film made by a country (with almost no resources behind them) then that’s not a criticism at all. This is astonishingly successful. It’s charming, it has heart, and it entertains. The fact that it was made for next to nothing with next to nothing simply makes it more impressive, not less. And it’s not like I’m giving the Marshallese an easy ride – I’m comparing them alongside studio films. The fact that I can do that is testament to the strengths of this, and to the credit of everyone involved.
Disc: DVD (Region free, Marshall Islands)
Source: eBay
Availability: Out of print but sometimes available second-hand. The film can also be seen online for free here.