7/24/2023 0 Comments Johnny lingo movieOn the whole, I found it a very enjoyable movie, very much worth watching. I have just now finished watching 'The Legend of Johnny Lingo'. The message, given in the end, is very profound, regarding the meaning of the price that Johnny paid for his bride, and what it meant to her sense of self-worth and how the ugliest, most undesirable woman on the island was transformed into the most valuable and beautiful. Of all the many short movies that the Mormon church has produced, my very favorite of all was the 1969 "Johnny Lingo". Seen better - but sure seen worse! (just off the cuff, the promo posters don't particularly suit this version) This movie is an extended version of an earlier short film (Johnny Lingo 1969) from a story by Pat Mcgerr. It won't please hard bitten audiences but anyone looking for the style of matinée movie from yesteryear should be fairly well pleased (although the girls unpleasant drunkard father could be seen as a tad unsettling for some). The film is directed and edited by first time feature director Stephen Ramirez. Director of photography is the highly regarded New Zealander Allen Guilford and features some very good looking locations. Some good ethnic pop songs also help to set the scene. Mr Kiner's written several moving pieces all treated to unexpectedly lush orchestral arrangements. The real star of this piece is most certainly the music score by respected composer Kevin Kiner. It offers good location filming, some very good actors amongst what seems like a mostly amateur cast. If you're looking for a clean cut family film with lots of symbolic undertones (good messages) then "Legend" could serve the purpose. And after several times of seeing The Legend of Johnny Lingo over the past few years, what seemed to be glaring flaws the first few times around have faded. ![]() ![]() No, there are no Academy Awards here - but what we DO have is a good clean film with some positive things to say and a fun way to say them. I LIKE Johnny Lingo, I LIKE Toma, and I LIKE Mahane. In the end, I am overcome by the story, the music and the characters in this film. Okay, so it's weighed down by its share of clichés, including one scene that appeared to have been stolen directly from Chicken Run. Okay, so it's a rolling commercial for Tahitian Noni Juice. Okay, so Alvin Fitisemanu's acting is awful in this film. However, most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who saw it in Seminary or Sunday School remember the movie as a message of seeing the inner beauty in women, and treating them with kindness, love, and respect.Īlthough not said as frequently now as it was in the 1970s, a woman described as an eight-cow wife or woman is one with many qualities that deserve a closer look.That's not how I felt about it the first couple of times I watched it, but seeing it again recently, I realized: I really, really like this movie. “Many things can happen to make a woman beautiful, but the thing that matters most is what she thinks of herself.” He also said, “She now knows, she is worth more than any other woman on the island.”Īs is common, the movie is now viewed through the lens of modern-day sensibilities and is judged as sexist. Johnny tells him that he paid eight cows for Mahana to make her happy and for her to be an eight-cow woman. Harris delivers the mirror to Johnny and he sees that Mahana is beautiful and happy. Harris is convinced that Johnny only paid so much to look good and be remembered. Harris, an American shopkeeper on the island, to offer him a valuable shell in exchange for a mirror. but not enough for Mahana!” He then offers the unheard-of price of eight cows.Īfter the bargaining, Johnny visits Mr. Johnny Lingo answers, “Three cows are many. In the negotiation, Moki asks for three cows, which causes the gathered islanders to break into laughter. ![]() They comment that Mahana’s father will be lucky to be offered one cow for her. Her father often yells at her unkindly, “Mahana, you ugly!” When Johnny comes to bargain with her father for her hand in marriage, the other wives in the village brag about how many cows their husbands paid for each of them. To her father, Moki, and others in the neighborhood, she is of little value. In the story, Johnny Lingo is a shrewd, honest, and well-liked Polynesian trader who has come home to bargain for Mahana to become his wife. The term eight-cow wife comes from a 1969 short film entitled “Johnny Lingo.”
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