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Nlast week sees the release of Moana, the live-action remake of the 2016 Disney animation smash – again with Dwayne Johnson. But that wasn’t the original Moana. That honor goes to Moana, which was released a century ago: a glimpse into the now-forgotten Polynesian way of life but no longer providing inspiration for those making modern-day remakes.
“Someone at Disney took the bones of the 1926 Moana to make their own movie,” believes film historian Bruce Posner.
The 1926 Moana was a silent film by American filmmaker Robert Flaherty, who had boosted his reputation a few years earlier with Nanook of the North, an early picture of Inuit civilization. His classic walrus hunting and kayaking adventures lit up the box. So, as a result, Flaherty had carte blanche to go anywhere. He chose Samoa.
Posner, who oversaw the digital restoration of Flaherty’s Moana in 2014, said: “He had a vision of a giant sea monster. “But when he got there, there was no sea monster. There was an island life where everyone was happy.”
Without risking a take, Flaherty instead created a pastoral portrait of Samoan life, centered on a boy named Moana and her family. He spent over a year filming, in a classic example of location video production.
Posner said: “This is important because of the problems that Flaherty was having with his old equipment due to the weather in Samoa. To prepare his film, Flaherty had to set up a lab in a freshwater cave. After drinking the water, he accidentally killed himself. “He spent several months near death,” says Posner.
When Flaherty brought his film home, it wasn’t what the studio expected. Instead of dangerous sea monsters, there were harmless sea turtles. There was no plot either – gentle scenes of Moana and her family gathering taro roots and coconuts.
Despite this, Moana broke box office records during rehearsals in New York. But when the film was widely released, it was crushed. One reviewer put it succinctly: “Rather than fun, it’s fun.”
Although the film was not a hit, its legacy was protected by another writer. Critic John Grierson said the film had “documentary value”, creating a new voice for the emerging genre. So Moana earned a place in film history as the first film to be called a “documentary”. But this group also causes the conflicts that are happening today.
Dr Dionne Fonoti, senior lecturer at the National University of Samoa, said: “Much of what Flaherty demonstrated has not happened again. “By the 1920s, dress and Samoan attitudes towards modesty had changed dramatically. Flaherty comes in and restores it,” she explains, noting that women appear topless throughout the film.
Indeed, Flaherty’s writings were entirely made up. Moana and her “family” were not mutually exclusive – Flaherty created each part based on character and acting skills. Even the name Moana was chosen by Flaherty.
Although Flaherty has been criticized for being flexible with the truth, Posner says that he was working before the laws of film production. “For better or for worse, the word ‘documentary’ has stuck with Flaherty. But to me, he’s a film poet, as opposed to a filmmaker.”
Likewise, the film has attracted post-colonial critics for its positive portrayal of the islanders “untainted by the illusions of civilization”. But Fonoti says the film does not seem controversial in Samoa today.
“People in the academic community, we talk about this film.” But most people here don’t really care about this movie.
The daughter of one of the film’s stars gave her opinion in a 2011 documentary. “In my opinion there was nothing wrong with the film,” she said. Another person from the village where the film was shot also expressed this opinion. “This film is our film,” he said. “It belongs to this village.”
Indeed, although Moana is seen through Flaherty’s western lens, her paintings were created in collaboration with the local community. And instead of holding on to Samoa as it was in the 1920’s, he deliberately tried to restore the old way of life before it left his heart.
Flaherty’s wife Frances (who was also a co-producer of Moana) later described how the community was “making the movie with us”. He also described the rush of village elders “who still remember the old ways that have been forgotten and can help us retrieve them and tell us if our film was true”.
In this way, Fonoti argues that there is a “great connection” between Flaherty’s film and the Disney franchise. Before Moana, several Disney productions drew on Native American and non-Western cultures without dialogue. This led to famous events such as What Made the Red Man Red? musical number from Peter Pan. But for Moana, the company brought together experts from the Pacific Islands to provide advice on all aspects of the movie.
“It’s been a great experience,” says Fonoti, who has been a member of the advisory board since the franchise’s inception. “Pacific Islanders have been a part of Western film history since the beginning.
Fonoti points out that Flaherty’s film was the beginning of a trip to Samoa on film. “There’s a thread that runs from 1926 Moana to where we’re actively involved in creating these stories.”
As for any other connection between the Disney movies and Flaherty, Posner remains adamant that the silent video was inspirational. “It wasn’t an accident,” she says, referring to the location they shared on the Pacific Island (although she was changed from a man in the Flaherty film to a woman in the Disney franchise).
Either way, Posner hopes that Disney’s upcoming remake will bring more attention to the uncredited original as he prepares for a new 35mm film negative in its centennial year. “For me, this film is about beauty, grace and humanity,” he concludes. “It’s a stone.”
