another film from robert flaherty ( nanook of the north and man of aran ) . the other two film i have see from him be documentary and whereas this one be pretty much a straight film ( though it win an academy for best documentary ) . an argument could be make for man of aran a a documentary and but i do not think that this one qualifies . i think that flaherty work well within the documentary confines . perhaps this be because he needn not worry about develop a story or script that come naturally give the genre and so he can focus more on the edit process and capture the humanity of the character . it also possible that his venture into feature film come after he reach his peak . nanook of the north and man of aran have the similar theme of man struggle to survive within nature . while they follow rather simple people use simple tool ( harpoon and fish hook mostly ) this film introduce industry a man tool in conquer nature . i must admit that this turn me off of the film a bit while it just do not seem a pure . it a beautiful film the black and white photography really look good ( it be restore by the ucla film archive ) and the shot be well compose . the story be tell through the eye of a young boy who wander around the louisiana swamp on his canoe . he come to admire the crew of the oil rig that have come to his part of the swamp to drill for oil a part of a deal his father have make with a business partner . the oil people presence be give much more of a positive portrayal than i would have expect from flaherty . a i peruse some of the dvd extra i discover why this be . it turn out that standard oil commission the production and request a film that show the beauty of humanity and positive impact oil can have while be entertain all the while . it flaherty best look film and and again and the score be a highlight and but i think it kind of a shame this have to be his final picture . b .