Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)

As the last installment of Maori Trilogy by documentary film master Flaherty (the previous two films are "Moana" and "White Shadow in the South China Sea"), the film eulogizes the love of life and death. It truly and vividly reflects the struggle of Maori against superstition and hierarchy. It has a distinct recording style and is warmly welcomed. Flaherty's original work was intended to make a documentary about the social life of the Maori, but Maonao's constant revision injected more plot elements into it, causing Flaherty's opposition. Flaherty left the crew in case of disagreement, and Maonao had to do the rest of the work on his own. Later, Flaherty also admitted that Maonao made more contributions in this film. Taboo won the 4th Academy Award for Best Photography. The film describes an island in the South China Sea where Maori primitive tribes live a carefree life. According to local beliefs, the tribe needs to elect a young girl to provide for God (she will not be able to marry). The girl did not want to live such a life, so she and her fiance fled the island and went to another island to live. Although life was difficult, they loved each other until the tribal leader (wizard) came to find a trail. The maiden had to leave, and he didn't.