Acadian Waltz

source: Acadian Waltz

Moviecut—Acadian Waltz

What a fantastic movie... beautifully shot, terrific story, incredible music. Belizaire carries his torch for Alida, the love of his life, to the end, and uses his knowledge of superstitions to get his way. A fairly accurate portrayal of life in the Bayou, and the prejudices faced by the Acadian settlers, and how so many of them dealt with it. In my opinion, this has to be one of Armand Assante's best roles. Humor, tragedy, excitement, and intrigue, all rolled into one package. The only reason I can figure that this movie has gotten a low rating here is that there must be a number of people who are heavily weighted voters that simply voted it down with the good olé' "it was stupid," (read: I have no idea what was going on, nothing exploded, people had funny accents, and the music was weird)mentality. See it, decide for yourself.

This is a very good film for those who only think that American History is only about American Independence, Civil War and Cowboy's and Indians. There are many more stories to be told about America like the Cajuns, the American/Mexican war, American Indians and not just slavery of African-Americans. I agree that this film is may not be very sophisticated, action packed and the story line is relatively easy to predict. But, all that aside, Asante does a very good job and shows his talent in attempting to play a cultural role that he is not. His attempt to act "Cajun" and attempt to speak the Cajun dialect underlines his acting ability. This film is very underrated only because it is not very well know. There are not enough films about our culture and this film is a good starting point. It is amazing that no other film attempts, since 1986, to tell the story of the persecution of the Cajuns/Creole culture in the South during this time period. I know that this does not compare to the persecution of the African-American slaves during the same period, but it does attempt to show the similarities. And, if you go to the real Cajun Country today(not New Orleans), you will enjoy the brotherhood, hospitality and friendliness that is comparable to none.

This amazing film tackles cultural barriers, time and love. It is a visually stimulating film and it has surprisingly well known actors to boot! (Wasn't Belizaire's cousin the same man who played Jake from 16 Candles!) The main child character Dolsin is played by a gem of an actor. Such untapped talent! The way he threatened the main character was so real, I felt like I had been threatened by Dolsin myself. The costumes, especially Belizaire's hair, accurately portrays the evolution of the trends in Louisiana. The music was absolutely accurate and I believe you can still find dem ol cajuns barefooted and dancing around with a squeeze box and a wash board. I'm not sure what else to write. I'll leave you with this thought "I'll take two, I lose dees..."

I first saw this movie when it was broadcast on the PBS Series "American Playhouse," around the same time they were doing things like Kurt Vonnegut's "Who am I this time?" directed by a young Jonathan Demme and starring Christopher Walken as a man almost paralyzed by overwhelming shyness, but who managed to live out a full and interesting life by acting in local theater productions and adopting the personalities of the characters he portrayed. Belizaire is just and compelling, interesting and wonderfully acted. This is an admittedly slow, but lyrical period piece that transports you to another time and place with effortless grace and simplicity. Assante is marvelous, with that amazing ability to disappear into character.

Absolutely brilliant! Why none of the cable networks haven't made it into a series is beyond me. Probably best enjoyed by those over 30 who like intelligent fare. The director's sense of humour and humanity remind me of Francois Truffaut's best work. Armand Assante turns in an excellent performance in the title role of Belizaire.

BELIZAIRE THE CAJUN is a trickster's tale. Belizaire (Armand Assante) is a healer and community leader who is standing against a displacement of a small Cajun settlement in rural Louisiana that is being led by "good white citizens" like Old Perry (Ernie Vincent), his reluctant son Matthew (Will Patton), and his obnoxious gung-ho vigilante son-in-law, James Willoughby (Stephen McHattie). Matthew Perry is a torn personality, as he has "gone native" with a beautiful Cajun woman Alida Thibodeaux (Gail Youngs) and is the father of her son and a child she is pregnant with. Belizaire nurses an old love for Alida, and this is a source of tension between he and Matthew that the surrounding community is aware of. In addition to this conflict, there is an underlying problem between Matthew Perry and his brother-in-law Willoughby, who seeks to run the Perry plantation, but is distrusted by both Old Perry and his daughter Rebecca (Nancy Barrett). Beyond these issues, there are the problems engendered for the Cajun settlement by the mischief of petty raiders like Hypolite Leger (Michael Schoeffling), a man whose own family has been displaced by earlier seizures of Cajun land and livestock. Before the story is over, Matthew Perry is dead, Belizaire winds up charged with his murder, and a lot of wheeling and dealing is done under the auspice of a Machiavellian sheriff (Loulan Pitre) and the parish priest (Allan Durand), all of which is brought to closure during a most amusing hanging scene that marks the climax of the work. With BELIZAIRE THE CAJUN, film maker Glen Pitre gives us a trickster's tale that is steeped in a little known chapter of United States history. And that chapter, which is as "all-American" as the white-led anti-black riots in St. Louis during the First World War and the U.S. led massacre at My Lai in Vietnam, is a semi-fictional chronicle of the harassment of the Arcadian (or Cajun) peoples of Southwest Louisiana in the years before the Civil War. It's a story that bears telling, and Pitre and his cast pull it off with a lot of humor as well as a "no foolin'" tone. The beautiful soundtrack provided by Cajun musicians Beausoleil adds depth and atmosphere. BELIZAIRE THE CAJUN is a "ringer" to be sure.

A rarely seen corner of folk culture receives star billing in this lively slice of backwoods Americana, directed by an alumnus of Robert Redford's Sundance Institute. The background is historically precise: a 19th century clash between expatriate French Canadian settlers and local vigilante ranchers in rural Louisiana, but in the foreground is a rousing, crowd pleasing drama much in the style of many a western. Armand Assante plays the title character, a celebrated Cajun rogue and medicine man hoping to end the repression of his kinfolk by pleading guilty to a murder he didn't commit. This selfless gesture leads him straight to the gallows where, in an unlikely but exciting climax, he manages to outwit the enemy and save the day (not to mention his own neck). It may lack the technical gloss of a bigger budget film, but more than compensates with plenty of rich period detail and flavor. Robert Duvall, credited as a creative consultant, appears in a brief cameo role.

Having grown up in Acadiana and having some of that blood running through my own person, I didn't have to look to this movie to get a historical understanding of the people in the story. However, anyone who didn't grow up in Louisiana themselves knows either nothing, or stereotypical inaccuracies (which is worse), about Acadians (Cajuns). It's too bad the movie couldn't have shown more of this aspect in order to give its viewers a more genuine representation and history. The acting in the movie was, for the most part, very good, as was the story . My main problem with the movie is the almost total lack of French. I understand that there are white people in the movie who spoke only English, but it would have been much more accurate had the Acadians been speaking Cajun French amongst themselves. That aside, the movie is enjoyable and not inaccurate in its representation of a people and their culture.