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Review: Quest for Fire (1981)
Definitely a peculiar movie, but I appreciate its form. I would recommend this to people who are looking for something different, though this movie can be a little gruesome and raw at times.
Spoilers.
Story
Given that none of the people in this movie speak a language that is recognizable to us, I do not know how Wikipedia got the names of the characters lol.
The movie started with two cavemen tribes, one had fire, and the other was trying to steal fire from them. The tribe that our main characters are from is called the Ulam. The Ulam had a smaller fire that did not go out during the battle, but instead went out while the group was travelling across a marsh.
Three progatonists, Naoh, Amoukar, and Gaw, were charged with finding fire. First, they stumbled across a cannabalistic tribe. They fought the tribe and were able to steal their fire. In the process, they freed two young women who had been captured to be eaten, one of them being Ika. Ika followed the three protagonists. She also helped Naoh with his injury and I guess this was the beginning of their feelings for each other.
While travelling, they crossed paths with the Ivaka, Ika's tribe. Ika went ahead to reunite, and the guys followed after, first Naoh and then Gaw and Amoukar. Naoh was taken into the Ivaka tribe. He was made to mate with some of the other women in the tribe and it appears Ika was not well-liked in her tribe. While wtih the Ivaka, Naoh discovered that they had a way of creating fire with a hand drill which amazed him.
Gaw and Amoukar were also found by the Ivaka tribe. Naoh seemed unwilling to leave so they knocked him out to bring him back. Ika joined them.
As they brought fire back, the four were ambushed by another group (which Wikipedia said were rivals from their own Ulam tribe). Using more advanced spear-throwing weapons, they were able to fight off the group. They returned to the Ulam with fire but it was extinguished in the water. However, Ika was able to create fire again. The movie ended with Ika and Naoh preparing for a child.
The entire movie was spoken in an invented language so it relied a lot on situational cues and body language. I think the general gist was still understandable though. It worked because the story was simple, just about a group of guys trying to find fire.
Production
I will say the movie is a little raw because obviously these prehistoric humans don't have the same customs as we do. For example, women were often raped, people didn't really have an idea of cleanliness, etc. So in that sense it was a little hard to watch at times.
I went on Wikipedia and there was a note that the film was not intended to be scientifically or historically accurate and I think that makes sense, considering the varying levels of intellectual advancement between the different tribes that were seen in the movie.
Characters
It's hard to say that these characters were characters. I think at this point they were more concerned with survival and were acting more on instinct.
Naoh, Amoukar, and Gaw perhaps differed in their approaches to safety. One point where they diverted was when they came across the Ivaka. Obviously Ika wanted to be with her tribe. At that point, she and Naoh had a rapport so it made sense that Naoh wanted to join her. And then later Amoukar and Gaw joined him, presumably so that they would be safer in numbers.
I think Naoh enjoyed life at the tribe because a lot of needs were taken care of. They could have fire whenever they wanted, they had huts, etc. And perhaps that was why he was reluctant to leave.
But Amoukar and Gaw had not experienced the same level of wonder he had, so I guess that was why they were intent on returning.
As for Ika, we saw that she was not well-liked among the Ivaka, perhaps because she was not like the other women who were curvy and big-breasted. So I guess that was why she was open to leaving.
The romantic subplot between Ika and Naoh seemed a little random but I guess it also gave us insight into how a simpler kind of romance could have occurred.
Themes
I guess the first theme here was the importance of fire to humankind in general. At the beginning, we saw how the Ulam relied on fire took their food and to prepare their weapons. When they lost their fire, they spent their nights very cold.
This isn't quite a theme but more of a creative choice but the idea of all of the tribes having widely varying levels of intellectual advancement was a pet peeve. It just didn't seem realistic that the gap was so large and the scientific community pointed that out.
With the Ivaka, since they were more advanced, we also saw how that came with their own problems. There was discrimination (against Ika), and also really odd customs that probably didn't make sense to a newcomer like Naoh, who was just focused on having fire to survive. This wasn't explored too much though, as the story was focused more on the Ulam need for fire.
I think this story wanted to show that over time, tribes would learn from each other to advance their own technology and way of living. But it kind of begs the question of how the most advanced tribes gain their technology lol.
Overall
An okay movie. Again, it is a little weird and jarring because of its style but I can see some people being into it.
Spoilers.
Story
Given that none of the people in this movie speak a language that is recognizable to us, I do not know how Wikipedia got the names of the characters lol.
The movie started with two cavemen tribes, one had fire, and the other was trying to steal fire from them. The tribe that our main characters are from is called the Ulam. The Ulam had a smaller fire that did not go out during the battle, but instead went out while the group was travelling across a marsh.
Three progatonists, Naoh, Amoukar, and Gaw, were charged with finding fire. First, they stumbled across a cannabalistic tribe. They fought the tribe and were able to steal their fire. In the process, they freed two young women who had been captured to be eaten, one of them being Ika. Ika followed the three protagonists. She also helped Naoh with his injury and I guess this was the beginning of their feelings for each other.
While travelling, they crossed paths with the Ivaka, Ika's tribe. Ika went ahead to reunite, and the guys followed after, first Naoh and then Gaw and Amoukar. Naoh was taken into the Ivaka tribe. He was made to mate with some of the other women in the tribe and it appears Ika was not well-liked in her tribe. While wtih the Ivaka, Naoh discovered that they had a way of creating fire with a hand drill which amazed him.
Gaw and Amoukar were also found by the Ivaka tribe. Naoh seemed unwilling to leave so they knocked him out to bring him back. Ika joined them.
As they brought fire back, the four were ambushed by another group (which Wikipedia said were rivals from their own Ulam tribe). Using more advanced spear-throwing weapons, they were able to fight off the group. They returned to the Ulam with fire but it was extinguished in the water. However, Ika was able to create fire again. The movie ended with Ika and Naoh preparing for a child.
The entire movie was spoken in an invented language so it relied a lot on situational cues and body language. I think the general gist was still understandable though. It worked because the story was simple, just about a group of guys trying to find fire.
Production
I will say the movie is a little raw because obviously these prehistoric humans don't have the same customs as we do. For example, women were often raped, people didn't really have an idea of cleanliness, etc. So in that sense it was a little hard to watch at times.
I went on Wikipedia and there was a note that the film was not intended to be scientifically or historically accurate and I think that makes sense, considering the varying levels of intellectual advancement between the different tribes that were seen in the movie.
Characters
It's hard to say that these characters were characters. I think at this point they were more concerned with survival and were acting more on instinct.
Naoh, Amoukar, and Gaw perhaps differed in their approaches to safety. One point where they diverted was when they came across the Ivaka. Obviously Ika wanted to be with her tribe. At that point, she and Naoh had a rapport so it made sense that Naoh wanted to join her. And then later Amoukar and Gaw joined him, presumably so that they would be safer in numbers.
I think Naoh enjoyed life at the tribe because a lot of needs were taken care of. They could have fire whenever they wanted, they had huts, etc. And perhaps that was why he was reluctant to leave.
But Amoukar and Gaw had not experienced the same level of wonder he had, so I guess that was why they were intent on returning.
As for Ika, we saw that she was not well-liked among the Ivaka, perhaps because she was not like the other women who were curvy and big-breasted. So I guess that was why she was open to leaving.
The romantic subplot between Ika and Naoh seemed a little random but I guess it also gave us insight into how a simpler kind of romance could have occurred.
Themes
I guess the first theme here was the importance of fire to humankind in general. At the beginning, we saw how the Ulam relied on fire took their food and to prepare their weapons. When they lost their fire, they spent their nights very cold.
This isn't quite a theme but more of a creative choice but the idea of all of the tribes having widely varying levels of intellectual advancement was a pet peeve. It just didn't seem realistic that the gap was so large and the scientific community pointed that out.
With the Ivaka, since they were more advanced, we also saw how that came with their own problems. There was discrimination (against Ika), and also really odd customs that probably didn't make sense to a newcomer like Naoh, who was just focused on having fire to survive. This wasn't explored too much though, as the story was focused more on the Ulam need for fire.
I think this story wanted to show that over time, tribes would learn from each other to advance their own technology and way of living. But it kind of begs the question of how the most advanced tribes gain their technology lol.
Overall
An okay movie. Again, it is a little weird and jarring because of its style but I can see some people being into it.