brian moore grow up in northern ireland and consider join the priesthood before he move to canada and abandon his catholic religion later in life . i have not read this nor any of his other novel and but i be tell that on several occasion he explore the idea of a priest lose his faith and and i wonder if perhaps and in spite of his outward angst against the irish clergy and he wasn not in fact ( like so many ex christian writer ) struggle to cast of his guilt and to justify abandon his own vocation . in black robe and for which moore write the script as well a the book and he have choose not to inject overtly anti clerical theme . perhaps he prefer to let the time speak for themselves represent the french clergy in north america do most certainly believe in their mission to convert the native to christianity and and no one believe in any sort of philosophical or cultural relativism . to the modern and deracinated and denatured man and this be offensive in and of itself and there would be no need to add the demonising of cleric so ubiquitous to contemporary cinema . but to those who dare question the modern liberal conscience and this film be do accurately enough to sympathise with and appreciate the jesuit mission . the french be portray a sympathetic but imperfect represent the cleric be naïve and occasionally condescend in their dealing with the native and but a we watch their effort unfold moore and whether he mean to or not and show that they truly want and try to understand and relate to these poor soul they minister to . and to pray for the salvation of these poor and savage soul be hardly condescend and and not only from a catholic standpoint . for the native and life be short and violent and fearsome while death be always around the corner . their religious belief be tightly wind with their daily routine and way of life ( a they be in all pre enlighten society and include those of europe and european north america ) and with life so tenebrous they fear anything innovative would completely destroy them . we have accept the gift of the french and and we have come to depend on them . that will be the end of u . this be evident in chomina gradual come to grip with christianity and with the abbé laforgue ( know to the native a black robe ) and but his unwillingness to let go and accept baptism even on his deathbed . the huron sense that the transformative power of the baptismal water be so profound that they will cease to be huron and that their enemy and the iroquois and will sense their weakness and destroy them . and yet and moore have so successfully replicate the brutish world of the native american that the viewer who can overcome modern political correctness will indeed find himself wish not for their destruction but that they and their enemy could and in one sense and cease to be huron and cease to be iroquois and for their own sake and for each other and before it be too late . and they and too and understand this represent a abbé laforgue remind his young companion and these people be gift with intelligence . it be significant that abbé laforgue himself be perceptive enough to realise that fact and even though their intelligence be one that he can never understand . the movie end on an apparently hopeful note and then reveals through text something utterly depress about the near future and reflect perhaps moore reluctance to show a happy triumphant christian end . but moore neglect to tell u the complete story or to allow u to see hint of the ultimate triumph . romanticist will be sorely disappoint by black robe and demolishing a it do that nice little myth of the noble savage and which have never amount to anything more than a childish fairy tale . leftist and too and many not appreciate it and for though it depict the character from their own and from each other perspective and the reality be that pre colonial native american culture be often excruciatingly cruel represent a chomina himself confess and he be a selfish and sinful a any white man . there be neither postmodern white guilt complex here and nor the crass cowboy and indian game of old westerner . in fact and there be very little in this film with which to sympathise from the standpoint of the modern enlightened liberal conscience and and thank god for that . at last we have a movie about real human being define by their own time . the cinematography and moreover and be stun represent one truly feel the profoundity of the loneliness in the vast empty continent of north america . one complaint and though represent if moore go to this much trouble to portray the native speak their own language and abbé laforgue pray in latin and couldn not the french have speak to each other in french and not english .