Cannibal tour is the dramatic glance into a world that people never observe. Dennis O’Rourke focuses on tourism and anthropology, which offers us a genuine delineation of incongruity between the poor and rich in diverse parts of world. Cannibal tours demonstrate the reality of the world we reside in, where wealthy and dominating people take benefit of financially wounded natives.Cannibal tours follow a number of American and European eco-tourists as they voyage from village to village through Sepic River area in Papua New Guinea. After some exploration, the tourists in movie inadvertently divulge pervasive and unattractive ethnocentrism to cameras. The bare white face filled with dark lines appears from behind a camera, which decorates Americans and Europeans dancing on an extravagant cruise ship.
When cameras flicker the visitors wrangle and the inhabitants do whatever they can to get in. The tourists arrive at shipload on schedule to view the prominent sights Papua Guinea has to present which includes souvenirs, natives and the scenery of beaches. The locals have almost abandoned their conventional way of life in order to cater to the newly arrived visitors. They utilize their craftsman skills to devise all kind of ornate trinkets which they can offer to European as well as American guests.
Over the serene blue sea, with stunning lime green hill at the background, we can hear Mozart. Before the interruption by loud music of radio news which reports Henry A. Kissinger's opinion on arms control. The tourist’s awkward voyeurism has been depicted in documentary by various repulsive Italians, Germans and Americans. The surprising twist of film is through connotation of mutual exploitation. Villagers sell things to the tourist which they prefer to buy like wood carvings. They get opportunity to shoot their ‘spirit house’ which contains sacred objects removed by missionaries. Even if foreigners undisputedly introduced the obtuse commercialism along with their religion, the modern villagers of today feel the need of selling out and they desperately want to do better.
Beneath its entertaining façade, Cannibal Tours elevates the stimulating cultural questions in 70 minutes and displays what a superb documentary can be.
