The Orator/O Le Tulafale (review)

The Orator/O Le Tulafale hit our creative capital city of Wellington like the tropical thunderstorm that majestically opens the film—potent, uncompromising, life-affirming. After being drenched by it, the world appeared refreshed. As educators and students in Va'aomanu Pasifika offering programs in Samoan studies and Pacific studies at Victoria University, we witnessed the excitement that writer/director Tusi Tamasese's feature-length debut generated among our colleagues and in our classrooms, communities, and homes. We began to swap stories about "Orator effects." The movie prompted quiet students to speak, brought staunch old chiefs to tears, and facilitated the types of conversations that we need to have in the Pacific but often do not voice. As the film's blessings continued to pour down on us, we sought ways to channel the runoff. First, some of our staff organized a roundtable discussion, giving undergraduate and graduate students and staff an opportunity to engage in passionate dialogue about the film in both English and Samoan. It was in that forum that the following reviews began to germinate, each the product of a collaboration between a senior and junior scholar in Pacific studies or Samoan studies. Staff also had the opportunity to share their thoughts for a Radio New Zealand International piece on The Orator, coordinated by an undergraduate student in Pacific studies and intended to air in conjunction with the publication of this issue of The Contemporary Pacific. Collectively, the following reviews present an opportunity for members of our intellectual community to harvest the budding fruits of well-watered intellectual plantations and offer them back to those we serve. It is both a privilege and an obligation to honor this film in the best way we know how—through loving, critical commentary.