Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

Director:  F.W. Murnau
Year Released:  1931
Rating:  3.0

Subtly absorbing story of a village girl branded "tabu" (taboo) and untouchable as labeled by the village elder, and how she runs off with her would-be lover because that's not a life she wants. Love does not conquer all, Murnau shows, and breaking rules can end in punishment - the girl, despite willing herself to a new life of working with pearls, is not strong enough to affect her own fate. The ending is crushing, as their dreams of romanticism and independence fizzle with the simple image of a knife cutting a rope.

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