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Ten Canoes [DVD] [2006]

  • Based on 110 reviews
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Arrives Aug 15 – Sep 5
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Description

An ethnographic shaggy-dog story set and filmed in Australian swamp. Centred around an expedition by canoe to gather goose eggs, the film unfolds as village elder Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) discovers that his youngest wife is much desired by his callow younger brother Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil). As the expedition proceeds, Minygululu gradually relates a cautionary fable about Ridjimiraril (Crusoe Kurddal) - a proud warrior who like the narrator (David Gulpilil) has three wives and an envious younger brother (also played by Jamie Gulpilil) and whose life is thrown into turmoil when one of his wives disappears mysteriously after a stranger appears in the area.

Genre: Kids & Family


Format: Color, Dolby, Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen


Language: English


Runtime: 1 hour and 28 minutes


Color: Color / Black & White


Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.781


Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No


Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.82 ounces


Item model number ‏ : ‎ 4


Media Format ‏ : ‎ Color, Dolby, Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen


Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 28 minutes


Release date ‏ : ‎ September 24, 2007


Subtitles: ‏ ‎ English


Studio ‏ : ‎ Universal Pictures UK


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If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Aug 15 – Sep 5

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Top Amazon Reviews


  • fascinating "art" film
Beautiful photography. Very nice way of telling a story taking place in a lost culture. Quiet and not very exciting in the modern world sense of action or dramatic films. I guess these make it an art film. It is not ethnographic in the sense that ethnographic would imply dissecting a culture in terms of the categories of technology, production, kinship, ceremonies, etc. that are the ways in which ethnographers commonly organized their note-taking. It makes a good effort at telling a story from the perspective of these particular aboriginals in a traditional frame of mind. Far, far from the old Mondo Cane anthro-exploitation films!! Other reviewers have given good overall views on the film. I especially appreciated the lengthy "making of" extra. It went into aspects of how difficult it can be to try to make a film with non-Western peoples and still be respectful of their cultural integrity and of them and individuals. I confess that I could not follow all the details, but the general nature of the challenges came through very well. All in all, if you are the sort of film watcher who is interested in people who are different from us in many respects and how they make a go of it, then you may well appreciate this. Watching it with a friend, she said that she was struck that they are not so different from us -- laughing at farts, penis envy (I did not see it that way), joking around, men attracted to women, women attracted to men, mostly cooperating, sometimes fighting, misunderstandings, and so on. I sort of took this for granted, but maybe that would be a value for some viewers. No matter how exotic these aboriginals might seem they are simply people coping with life. With very different lives than ours, granted, in a very different environment -- Australian swamps and forests. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2013 by PJR

  • A Wonderful Adventure to an Unknown Land
This is a wonderful film based on an ancient Aboriginal tale that is interwoven with a story from a 1000 years ago. Though it is in the old indigenous language of the northern Arafura Swamp it is surprisingly warm and funny as the universal humanity of the characters comes through. I hope it comes to the US and gets the attention it deserves. I was fortunate to be able to see it on a plane flying back from my trip to Australia in August 2006. So, even though I saw it on a tiny screen with earphones I was transported to a totally new time and place and completely absorbed in the film. Though the language, the customs and the setting were strange, the human desires, actions, humor and responses were so recognizable. It has a dreamlike quality that weaves a spell of enchantment... Thank you, Qantas, for giving me the opportunity to see this wonderful, special film. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2007 by DCLO

  • Picture perfect.
An aboriginal telling of thier own legends. It is wonderfully portrayed and gives an insight into early and present-day aboriginal culture. Don't forget to watch the special feather on the making of the film. I enjoyed every minute and have gone back to watch it numerous times.
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2022 by Costelloe

  • great film
the film sucks you in, is not overtly political or philosophical. what might it have been like to live as one of the original australians? how might it have felt? the film gives you one detailed and nuanced vision of this. one of my favorites
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2017 by shopping cart

  • Ten Canoes
This is a wonderful movie. The actors are so natural...u can't help but fall in love with them..and the plot is great. After viewing this great film, I kept telling myself how alike we are...no matter what part of the world we may live in. Highly recommended!
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2012 by Matti Kniva Spencer

  • Aboriginal Magic
"Ten Canoes" is an extraordinary movie about the indigenous Aboriginal natives from the Arnhem region of Australia. Learning is often passed along through instructional story-telling and at the heart of this tale is the story of an unmarried younger brother's lust for for one of the wives of his elder brother. As the men of the tribe hunt for goose eggs in a remote swamp, having to team-build canoes to carry them, they boast about their sexual prowess. The elder brother uses this opportunity to explain what happened to some of their ancestors when a younger brother also coveted an older brother's wife. So, this is a story within a story, filled with mystery, tribal rites, revenge, sorcery, and a beautiful untrammeled background. The bonus features are not to be missed. The movie was 2 years in pre-production and that they managed to make it is almost a miracle. For example as filming was about to start, one of the key actors disappeared; scenes between husbands and wives had to use actual married people and there were cultural norms and relationships that had to be honored. Even the skills required to make the canoes, once the province of every tribesman, had long been forgotten and only one cast member actually knew how to make the canoes (shown in detail as part of the movie). This will be a classic, remembered Australian movie. It is for those who value the unique and unusual, and not typical Hollywood fare. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2009 by R. Crane

  • Touching though somewhat limited --- goes only into one aspect ...
Touching though somewhat limited --- goes only into one aspect of old societies and their problems with 'other' peoples. Suggest also reading V Woods Bonobo Handshake about how people view 'others.'
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2016 by annonymous

  • Life in Australia
I bought this movie because I thought that it would be a good movie to show what life is like for the Aborigines. While it does a great job of showing what life it like for them. It leaves out a lot of the life issues that I thought it would cover. I would only recomend this movie to adults who were interested in how they go egg hunting. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2013 by Paul Clark

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