A História de Louisiana

Robert Flaherty had a great eye for the interesting shots. Never more so than this oil company funded film about a young boy seeing the oil rig come to his Louisiana bayou. Although there is not much of a story the shots of the oil rig, life in the bayou, and the moods that Flaherty captures make it a film well worth seeing. If you see "Man of Aran" or "Nannok of the North" remember it was the same great documentary filmmaker. I've seen it twice and probably will see it again someday.

There's not a lot to say about this film. We get random images of a Cajun boy in his canoe, paddling quietly through a bayou, looking, watching, listening ... an alligator here, a snake there, all surrounded by lush swampland vegetation.

The plot is thin. About the only thing of interest is the appearance of an oil well crew that sets up a rig near the boy's home. The crew and the boy become friends, the crew curious about the boy's ability to catch fish, and the boy curious about the new technology. Yet, from the viewpoint of the 21st century, this heavy machinery is an odious intrusion into an otherwise natural, pristine environment. And the boy and his naïve papa seem oblivious to the lurking menace of oil drilling.

The B&W photography probably is the best element of the film. "Louisiana Story" is a mostly visual film with very little dialogue. It's almost a kind of travelogue to a backwoods paradise, sans plot.

I could have wished for some Cajun songs. The music that is provided is all nondescript 1950s-style elevator music. At least the performances are not marred by well-known, professional, actors. All of the actors seem to be either local non-actors or obscure B-movie performers. The absence of Hollywood adds substantial realism to the video.

"Louisiana Story" is a look back in time to an era when people were part of their environment, not separate from it. As such, the film conveys an idyllic tone, peaceful, serene, with only the hint of the technological nightmare yet to appear.

Let's face it, there really isn't much to this movie. It's a movie directed by Robert J. Flaherty, who was best known for his documentaries and his most famous and first movie "Nanook of the North", which wasn't even a real documentary. This movie also ain't no documentary and its something that is somewhat between a full length movie and a fake-documentary, like "Nanook of the North".

In all honesty because of its style and approach, the whole movie and its story was far from an interesting one. It's not really a movie in which a lot is happening and there is no drama to the story in terms of having something awful or shocking happen in it. It just tells the story of a little Cajun boy who enjoys living in the swampy Louisiana area, when suddenly an oil company shows up and starts building an oil derrick. You think that after this point his whole life will change and he'll do anything to prevent the oil company from drilling and destroying the territory he loves to play and hunt in. This movie however got actually produced by an oil company, so there is no such happening in this movie at all. Instead he makes friends with the oil people and just go on about his life as if nothing has drastically changed. This is why "Louisiana Story" just isn't that interesting or strong as movie, story-wise.

It's however still a very well directed one. Every shot got set up nicely and Robert J. Flaherty obviously had an eye for the environments and for creating some beautiful set up shots. The movie is also supported by a really nice musical score by Virgil Thomson. The editing at times is however really off and at times ruins some of the movie its pacing.

Not really a that interesting movie to watch but still perfectly watchable because of how fine it's all made.

7/10

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A Cajun boy is fishing and hunting with his pet raccoon out in the Louisiana bayou. He comes upon a crew of oil drillers and has various adventures.

This was Oscar nominated for writing which is probably the least compelling part of this movie. It can be argued that there is barely any writing involved. Its strength is the sense of reality in the swamp and the oiler crew. It's a slice of life. It's the docu-style of filmmaking. The kid may not be a great actor but he has realism on his side. There are some great scenes. I can't forget the raccoon and it's great to see a real drilling crew working. The plot isn't much. It's really just a series of swamp adventures.

Under the heading "Louisiana" I checked this documentary called Louisiana Story by Robert J. Flaherty out of curiosity from my local East Baton Rouge Parish Library. Beautiful views of the state swamps as well as fascinating scenes of the oil rig that inhabits them dominates the film which depicts the adventures of a Cajun boy on a boat fishing and hunting alligators with his pet raccoon. His father occasionally comes along for the ride and they both have friendly relations with the workers of the oil well. There are some scenes of the mother as well. Great Pulitzer Prize-winning music scored by Virgil Thomson is beautifully performed by The Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra as conducted by Eugene Ormandy. Wonderful cinematography by Richard Leacock. Worth checking out as a depiction of late '40s Louisiana as well as the final film of Mr. Flaherty before his death in 1951. Update-4/29/07: The Cajun boy that starred in this film, J.C. Boudreaux, is now 73 and lives with his wife of 55 years, Regina, in a FEMA trailer in the town of Sweet Lake which is south of Lake Charles. They moved there after Hurricane Rita destroyed their home in Cameron. They had seven children who have provided them numerous grand-and great-grandchildren. Boudreaux still loves fishing. I found this out reading this morning's The (Baton Rouge) Advocate.