Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti (1993)

Documentary /
6.7/10
86% – Critics
86% – Audience

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Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti Movie Reviews

A sublime and extraordinary documentary on Haitian Voudoun

A sublime and extraordinary documentary on Haitian Voudoun shot during the 50’s by Maya Deren. While apparently only planning to bring back rare footage of ritual dance, the artist ended up writing a revealing book on Haitian Voodoun (by the same title) and becoming an actual initiate of the practice. This movie is a must see for anyone even the least bit curious about Voudoun religion or Haitian culture. During the movie you will learn about the various major Gods of the religion, their symbols, and their aspects. Most gripping is the drumming, the dancing, and the authentic footage of human possession taking place. Don’t expect much of a plot, however expect footage and drumming that pretty much carries the entire film like a sublime adventure.

An honest if not captivating documentary, the drummers are the stars.

If it’s Maya Deren you’re interested in, and not voudoun itself, then you might want to shuffle this one to the bottom of your list. It’s not terrible but it is distinctly reminiscent of those old “film strips” you had to watch in junior high (if you’re my age that is).

As an educational film ‘Divine Horsemen’ gives you some good general knowledge about Haitian voudoun beliefs and practices. It’s very sincere and respectful, showing an admirable refusal to sensationalize the material. This isn’t voodoo from the movies, some of it may have been being “performed” for tourists but it’s definitely the real stuff, including actual sacrifices of chickens, a goat, and a bull.

Somewhat surprisingly for a Maya Deren film ‘Divine Horsemen’ suffers from being a little too straight forward. It amounts to fifty minutes of a rather dry narrator talking over grainy black and white footage of various dances and sacrifices to the different loa. The biggest problem with the film is that it’s almost all shot in slow motion, in stark contrast to the audio. I’m sure Deren wanted to show the grace of the dancers, which is definitely more apparent when they’re at half speed, but forty-five minutes of fast drums and slow dancers wore on my nerves a little. It’s so one dimensional that your mind can’t help but wander a little, which is aided and abetted by the spectacular, and nearly constant, drumming. Not a good tactic if you’re hoping to engage both eye and ear.

In the final analysis this film probably will give you a better basic understanding of voudoun than the typical A&E documentary, but it’s just a little flat considering it deals with such a vivid subject. Not Maya Deren’s most fascinating work by a long shot.

Fascinating Trip Inside World of Voodoo

This is a fascinating look at the beliefs of Haitian Voodoo (or Voudoun) adherents, and explains the cosmology of this poorly understood religion. The “Divine Horsemen” are the gods (Loas) of voodoo. The nature of each Loa is explained, together with footage of rituals and signs dedicated to it.

Experimental filmmaker Maya Deren went to Haiti in the late 1940’s and shot some 20,000 feet of film of Voodoo (or Voudoun) ceremonies, together with the attendant sound recordings. She published a monograph on her studies in 1953 under the name “Divine Horsemen,” but this film was not actually edited for distribution until after her death in 1961.

Definitely worth seeing!

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