An Eskimo who has had little contact with white men goes to a trading post where he accidentally kills a missionary and finds himself being pursued by the police.An Eskimo who has had little contact with white men goes to a trading post where he accidentally kills a missionary and finds himself being pursued by the police.An Eskimo who has had little contact with white men goes to a trading post where he accidentally kills a missionary and finds himself being pursued by the police.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
- Kiddok
- (as Anthony Chin)
- Missionary
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Asiak
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsAfter giving the bear the baited food, Inuk initially chases it empty handed, then appears with a spear.
- Quotes
Missionary: The Lord be with you.
Inuk: No, just Asiak, Powtee and me. We do not know Lord.
Missionary: A very short sleep ago, you both offended Him.
Inuk: Oh, we did not know. One must apologize.
Missionary: If you will listen to my words and believe in me,the Lord will come and stay with you and follow you in all your travels.
Asiak: [whispers to Inuk] We do not want another with us.
Inuk: Maybe he good hunter.
[to Missionary]
Inuk: We will be pleased if your friend comes with us.
Asiak: He must bring his own sled. Will this Lord bring everything He needs?
Missionary: He will bring you faith.
Inuk: [Puzzled look on face] Faith?
Missionary: That wonderful light that drives back the shadows of sin.
Inuk: [after a moment's thought] OH, light, LIGHT, ahhh...
Asiak: It is good, Inuk,if it is the kind at the trading post, we could save it up for the winter, and our eyes will not get tired anymore...
Inuk: [Offering missionary a bowl of food with live worms wriggling in it] Here is something you will like...
Missionary: [Pushing bowl away] I come to give, not to receive.
Asiak: It is old marrow, it is much better, it is old and full of worms...
Missionary: Maybe another time, not right now.
Inuk: [whispers to Asiak] Has this white man come to insult us?
Missionary: Men don't live by bread alone.
Asiak: [to Inuk] Maybe he wants to laugh with a woman.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Lightning Over Water (1980)
Not only Ray was the director whose influence was huge on the rock generation ("Rebel with a cause " was the first movie which rocked ,a feat for it was a work which did not include songs)but "savage innocents" inspired Bob Dylan a song which Manfred Mann made a big hit in the sixties.Mighty Quinn indeed.
Anthony Quinn was par excellence the perfect good all-around.a cursory look at his filmography is revealing:from Fellini's "La Strada" to his portrayal of Quasimodo in the French version of "Notre Dame de Paris" (Delannoy) From Barrabas (Fleischer)to an Eskimo.
Like so many Rayesque heroes ,Inuk does not follow the rules :in a way he is akin to the youngsters of "Rebel" ,to Davey Bishop ("Run for cover" ),to Nick ("Knock on any door" ) and of course to the outlaws ("the true story of Jesse James") .But anyway Inuk cannot follow the Whites' rules for ,in his naive innocence,he is incapable of understanding them,which proves they are not universal.Margaret Mead had already showed that what is good and what is bad is not the same wherever you live in the world.
.My favorite scene is the priest trying to make the "savage" understand that he's lived a life of sin: what can a tale of long ago and far away mean for a man whose life is a constant struggle against a hostile nature ? It's the same pragmatism which we find in Luis Bunuel's Oeuvre.
"The savage innocents " is half documentary half fiction;the documentary side shows its age :correct me if I am wrong but "Eskimo" (=raw meat eater) is not a term the Inuit would appreciate nowadays.Besides,they did not live in igloos which were only used during the hunting season.Entirely filmed in studio ,the pictures are magnificent though,a real symphony in white.The white color dominates everything (tinged with blue)except for this extremely moving scene when it turns black when the old woman is left in the snow to die (it will remind the young cine buffs of Imamura's "Narayama Bushiko" (1983)).
"The savage innocents " sets the nature and its quietness -although it's a cruel mistress;when you fight a bear,it's you or him-against the "civilization" here represented by alcohol,pop music ,money and the Law.Ray had already been an ecologist ahead of his time in "Wind across the everglades" These two works are like "twin movies" and should be seen one after the other.
After all "King of Kings" was also perhaps a Ray movie:Jesus himself was not born to follow the rules.
- dbdumonteil
- Jun 8, 2008
- How long is The Savage Innocents?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.20 : 1