Rapa Nui (film)
| Rapa-Nui | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Kevin Reynolds |
| Produced by |
Kevin Costner Jim Wilson |
| Written by |
Kevin Reynolds Tim Rose Price |
| Starring |
Jason Scott Lee Esai Morales Sandrine Holt |
| Music by | Stewart Copeland |
| Cinematography | Stephen F. Windon |
| Edited by | Peter Boyle |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $305,070 |
Rapa-Nui is a 1994 film directed by Kevin Reynolds and coproduced by Kevin Costner, who starred in Reynolds's previous film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). The plot is based on Rapanui legends of Easter Island, Chile, in particular the race for the sooty tern's egg in the Birdman Cult.
The historic details of this film are questionable, but the central theme—the destruction of the island's irreplaceable forests—is well authenticated. The ethnic struggle in the story is derived from the legend of the Hanau epe.
There are two classes of people: Long Ears and Short Ears. Long Ears, marked by large wooden plugs in their earlobes and a certain tattoo, are the ruling class. The working-class Short Ears have no ear plugs and a different tattoo. Young men from each Long Ear tribe compete in the annual Birdman Competition. The winner’s tribe gets to rule the island for a year.
Ariki-mau has been the Birdman (Island King) for 20 years. He has a conviction that one day the gods will arrive in a great white canoe and take him to heaven. His advisor tells him to build more and bigger moai statues to curry favor with the gods and encourage them to come sooner. Ariki-mau petulantly rejects the latest statue—which stands over 20 feet tall—as too small. The Short Ear workers are forced to build an even bigger statue in an impossibly short amount of time. The king’s advisor ruthlessly enforces the rules and status quo by publicly killing a Short Ear fisherman who had accidentally caught a taboo fish.
Long Ear Noro (Jason Scott Lee) and Ramana, a Short Ear, are both rejects in their tribes—her father was banished for building an unlucky canoe. Noro’s father stole a canoe and sailed away and is accused of abandoning the tribe. They have a secret relationship and have fallen in love.
Ariki-mau tells Noro that he has to compete in the Birdman Competition so Ariki-mau can continue to rule the island. Noro asks if he can marry Ramana if he wins the Birdman Competition. The king reluctantly agrees. The king’s advisor claims that Ramana's skin is too dark and that she should be purified by spending the time from now until the Birdman Competition (six months) in the "Virgin’s Cave". He checks her virginity and snidely remarks to Noro, who is watching Ramana being lowered to the cave, that she isn’t right for the Virgin’s Cave and that it will be their secret. Ramana takes one last look at the sunset and goes into the cave.
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