Tanna
2015 · Directed by Martin Butler, Bentley Dean
Original language: English
- romance
- drama
The story
In a traditional tribal society in the South Pacific, a young girl, Wawa, falls in love with her chief’s grandson, Dain. When an inter-tribal war escalates, Wawa is unknowingly betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers run away, refusing her arranged fate. They must choose between their hearts and the future of the tribe, while the villagers must wrestle with preserving their traditional culture and adapting it to the increasing outside demands for individual freedom.
What it’s like
Tanna is shot on Vanuatu's volcanic island with a naturalistic, documentary-like eye: long, patient takes of thatched huts, black sand beaches, jungle green and the orange glow of the volcano at dusk, mostly in available daylight and firelight rather than polished studio light. The camera tends to hold still and let people move through the frame, so the feeling is observational and unhurried, with the crash of surf, birdsong, the rumble of the mountain and the murmur of village life filling the soundtrack. Music is sparse and used sparingly, which keeps the mood grounded and intimate. The vibe is tender, earthy and quietly tense, the kind of slow-burning drama that suits a rainy afternoon when you want to feel placed somewhere far away. Its pacing is deliberate and its emotional register restrained: a young couple who fall in love and resist an arranged future, caught between personal desire and the survival of their community. Violence is present but limited, mostly in the form of tribal conflict and its aftermath, with some tension and an eruption-driven sense of danger rather than gore. Sexual content is implied and non-explicit. It suits viewers who want a romance that is grounded in culture and landscape, and who are comfortable with a film that asks more of their patience than their pulse.
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