That was an excellent one.

Awesome Movie

A Disappointing Continuation

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

My name is Terrence Michael Sutton .. I was born in TUMUT NSW Australia .. My Father Laurance William Sutton was born there in 1908 .. My Fathers father who was William Sutton as well lived there dying when My father was 14 years old .. I have been trying to get my hands on the original early movie The Violent Earth for years .. but only came across this .. This movie is of my Fathers fathers family in New Caledonia .. I have never been there or met any from there but would really like to one day find the original movie .. I have just finished writing a book of my own fathers marriage and of what I experience in being a member of that family .. My father was as I feel a saint and raised us pretty much alone being a man of incredible values and integrity as well as stamina .. I am looking for a publisher now .. It is an amazing book and contains a lot of hardships he as well as myself endured .. I will continue to try and find a copy of the original movie .. Many Thanks .. Ever Sincerely .. Terry .. Terrence Michael Sutton .

The plot and characters are hardly worth commenting on - you have seen them before. The performances are competent and the sets adequate for a low budget drama. The most noteworthy thing about this series is that it was meant to be set in large part in the country now called New Caledonia. This is a French territory in the south west pacific which has a troubled history, largely as a result of colonial occupation and which is still unstable. The real history of those islands is interesting and dramatic. This mini-series reduces it to dull cliches. It is rendered even more unwatchable by the main characters having to preface what they say to each other by phrases like, "You are melanesian...." They have to say things like that because they so obviously have not the slightest drop of melanesian blood in their bodies. Perhaps they assume that the audience for this will be too stupid or ignorant to know the difference. There are many fine melanesian actors - the makers should have made an effort to use some of them here. A sad waste of celluloid devoted to what could have been in interesting subject - as colonial in its attitude as the colonialism it attacks.

The three part mini-series, "The Violent Earth", is a beautifully told story with wonderful acting and gorgeous scenery.As the lives of three generations of a French/Austrailian family unfold, you are captivated by the power of the strong, independent women in the story and by all the adventures they experience. Horrors of massacred loved ones, conflicts with local natives, typhoons, marriages, revolutions, and deaths are all part of this terrific television film. You won't be disappointed with the stories presented, and the cinematography is something you'll never forget. If there is ever a chance to see this stupendous mini-series, definitely stay home and take the chance offered you.