Conflicts test a disappearing culture on a remote Fiji island

"Once upon a time ... " So begins "The Land Has Eyes," Vilsoni Hereniko's semi-autobiographical account of life on the South Pacific island of Rotuma, where 2,500 people survive with few supplies, little electricity, no hotels or restaurants but an enduring appreciation of their colorful past.

The fairy-tale opening applies only to a prologue that dramatizes the myth that the island (which is part of Fiji) was first inhabited long ago by a marooned "Warrior Woman," whose matriarchal spirit never really died out. She's played by Rena Owen, the fierce Maori actress who dominated "Once Were Warriors" and again suggests a formidable force of nature.

Movie review

Showtimes and trailer

"The Land Has Eyes," with Sapeta Taito, Rena Owen. Written and directed by Vilsoni Hereniko. 87 minutes. Not rated; includes mild references to sexual awakening. In Rotuman and English, with English subtitles. Grand Illusion. Hereniko and his producer and wife, Jeannette Paulson Hereniko, will attend this weekend's screenings.

The rest of the movie more closely resembles the nonfiction films of Robert Flaherty and Edward S. Curtis, who also documented and sometimes re-created dying cultures. Hereniko, a visiting professor at the University of Washington's anthropology department, acknowledges that his film is more about Rotuma 40 years ago than it is about the island today.

Much of what happens to the teenage heroine, Viki (played with engaging naturalness by first-time actress Sapeta Taito), happened to Hereniko, including the premature and seemingly inexplicable death of his father. It's the movie's most powerful and unsettling episode.

There's a less compelling quality to some incidents, such as a pig stampede and the family's defense against the accusation that it has been stealing coconuts. Yet even when the story's dramatic potential isn't completely realized, the movie remains a fascinating portrait of another culture.

Owen is the only professional actor in the cast, which is otherwise made up entirely of indigenous people. The result is predictably uneven, with Taito and Owen the clear standouts.

Cinematographer Paul Atkins, who worked on Peter Weir's "Master and Commander," makes the most of the scenic possibilities. Audy Kimura provided the warm score, which, like the movie's title, suggests just a hint of mystery.

John Hartl: johnhartl@yahoo.com