Black Robe, a 1991 movie, narrates the story of the first encounters between the Huron Indians of Quebec and the French Jesuit priests who tried to convert them to Christianity but ultimately turned them over to their adversaries. After all, those first courageous Jesuit priests who served in the middle of the 17th century were unaware that they acted as colonialism’s minions. Instead, they were motivated by a burning belief and a firm conviction that their undertaking was the right thing to do. It wasn’t until much afterward that it became clear that European colonization of North America had more to do with the native people’s devastation than their redemption.
In the movie, Lothaire Bluteau plays young Father Laforgue and a priest sent to a mission more than a thousand miles from Quebec. If you watch “Vikings,” you will instantly recognize Lothaire Bluteau as the actor who portrayed the title character, Emperor Charles, even though his name may not be familiar to everyone. In this movie, the religious community has paid a troop of Algonquin Indians to accompany him on the long and dangerous pilgrimage. The film is gloomy and depressing, and it appears that it was shot mostly outside in gray weather.
A recurring subject is the unfortunate fate of those stuck in an unresolvable struggle between cultures. The fate of Father Laforgue, who is unable to converse with his young French assistant who finds love with an Indian woman, the subject must have attracted the filmmaker. Therefore, the love relationship between the French assistant and the Indian woman is faced with the conflict of religious difference. The preservation of religion is of paramount significance in Indian culture. Even if they eventually lose or renounce their beliefs, the underlying values they were raised with might still leave an impression. Getting rid of some or all of their beliefs and practices sometimes involves feeling guilty, and this guilt can swiftly turn one partner against the other for leading them away from their own culture.
Father Laforgue is horrified by the brutality and immorality of these people, even though his young assistant becomes accustomed to the environment and finds love with an Iroquois woman. In response, the Locals, who have given him the moniker Black Robe, ponder whether the man engaging in these peculiar actions is a conjurer. Father Laforgue experiences betrayal by the Indians, brutal treatment by the Iroquois, and significant amazement when he arrives at the quest near Lake Huron. The pilgrimage trails Father Laforgue’s mind, body, and spirituality. Father Laforgue has the willingness but not the strength to survive the Iroquois’ torturing when he and his colleagues are imprisoned. It is apparent that the Indians already existed with their own religious and spiritual systems and that none valued Christianity.
This movie has all the hallmarks of a spiritual masterpiece due to the outstanding and compassionate cinematography of Bruce Beresford. The dramatization by Brian Moore, inspired by his 1985 novel, exposes the religious arrogance on both sides of the conflict between European and Indian cultures. When Father Laforgue, humiliated by his adventures in the desert, gets a revelation that tells a lot about the core of authentic Christianity, the dramatic buildup in Black Robe culminates in an emotional high point.
For anyone interested in the early history of Westerners in North America, Black Robe will be of great interest, but it will be quite challenging to watch for regular audiences. It is a far more sobering and depressing masterpiece that narrates the history of the French in Quebec with a calm and unwavering belief in the goodness of people. There is no salvation at the conclusion of the movie. I will preface by noting that after it ended, I remained in a mood of gloomy depression and pondered whether that might be all that had happened.