Tabu (1931)
Genres: Drama, Silent
Cast: Matahi, Anne Chevalier
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, sometimes simply called Tabu, is a 1931 American silent film directed by F. W. Murnau. A docufiction, it is split into two chapters: The first, called "Paradise", depicts the lives of two lovers on a South Seas island until they are forced to escape the island when the girl is chosen as a holy maid to the gods. The second chapter, "Paradise Lost", depicts the couple's life on a colonised island and how they adapt to and are exploited by Western civilisation. The title comes from the Polynesian concept of tapu, from which is derived the English word "taboo".