Waiting for John
January. 01,2014
If you had never heard of an airplane, would you think it was a miracle when one arrived? Waiting for John tells the story of America's incredible impact on a remote island in the South Pacific and the birth of an extraordinary religion, the John Frum Movement, considered the last surviving cargo cult. We follow the John Frum believers today as they struggle to preserve a culture in danger of being lost to the modern world.
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Reviews
Such a frustrating disappointment
Don't listen to the negative reviews
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
This is a beautifully made film, exceptional in how it pulls back from what could have been an exercise in colonialist anthropology. In "Waiting for John," documentary filmmaker Jessica Sherry tells the story of a "cargo cult" in the South Pacific—a small community of devout believers that waits for the United States military to come (and to return after having been to the island during the Second World War) with a cargo of goods to save them from destitution. As the film unfolds, the seeming absurdity of the community's beliefs take on an increasing sense of familiarity as we learn more of how believers have created myths and rituals out of the fragments of their known history. The film is fascinating as a cautionary tale in the spirit of the Samuel Becket play evoked in the title--and as a tale of human hopes for a better future. The use of historical footage from the Second World War brings important context to the religious forms these hopes take. But the film also explores contemporary tensions in the community that help explain why some believers leave the faith while others stay. "Waiting for John" is as richly rewarding to watch as it is informative, fascinating not only because of its beautiful cinematography and storytelling but because it stimulates more questions than it tries to answer.
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