"THE SEEKERS"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 768, 9 April 1954, Page 5

"THE SEEKERS"

Sir-Thete would appear to be little hope remaining for those who expected that The Seekers would portray the datly New Zealand scene with any worthwhile degree of authenticity. Indeed, as the months of preparation pass it becomes increasingly obvious that whatever may have been the author’s intention the producers have done their utmost to distort a story which could have given a fairly actual picturisation of a part of our country as it was 100 years ago. Of the choice for the chief female character there has been sufficient criticism to show that the explanation given for the exclusion of Maori girls is likely to prove a most unpopular move. The acting of the young girl in Broken Barrier was so good and so natural that one must refuse to accept a dictum based on a false conception that Maori girls are not photogenic. As to dancing ability, surely a member of our native race who has seen and participated in the various indigenous dances could perform any of them with greater ease and grace than would a strangér to these shores. It would seem that authentic Maori dance has not been intended for this role, for to judge by the posture and costume of the person chosen, especially as depicted on the cover of The Listener of February 26, some fotm of dance full of sex implicationg has been substituted,

The producers seem hever to have become acquainted with the fact that among Maoris solo dancing with sex significance is unknown. The Maori meeting house shown in the cover picture is another instance of the general lack of detail which marks this film’s production. Here we have ornamentation of a kind that was surely hever seen on any Maori building of pre-pakeha days, and which even outdoes the worst examples of modern incorporation of incongruous and ugly features. The theme of house decoration for the film may be intended as a compliment to Miss Laya Raki, for it has a distinctly Indonesian aspect. As for the bowls lying at the dancer’s feet: are they poor copies of native wooden utensils without the usual carved ornamentation? If they are of earthenware, here is another gross misrepresentation, for it is genefally known that the Maoris had no knowledge of any branch of the ceramic art. One could, even from the few glimpses so far given, go on with justifiable criticism. The screening will give us cause for laughter and for serious

thought.

M. B.

SOLJAK

(Auckland)

(Abridged. Further correspondence on this subject should now be postponed until the film has been screened.-Ed.)