Underplayed Gems

The Forgotten Village (1941)

The Forgotten Village poster
Directed by
Herbert Kline, Alexandr Hackenschmied
Genre
documentary film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 07m
Rating
5.6 of 10 from 5 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like this

How it feels

This docufiction film looks at everyday life in a remote Mexican village. A folk healer and a teacher clash over whether to bring modern medicine to the community.

observationalearnestslow-pacedgroundedneutraleducationalstaged-naturalisticdidactic

What happens

The Forgotten Village is a 1941 American docufiction film — some sources call it an ethnofiction film — directed by Herbert Kline and Alexander Hammid. Filmed in Mexico with local non-actors, it depicts life in a remote traditional pueblo where a folk healer comes into conflict with a teacher and outsiders who want to introduce modern medicine. The story and screenplay were written by John Steinbeck, narration voiced by Burgess Meredith, and music scored by Hanns Eisler. Distribution was by the partnership of Arthur Mayer & Joseph Burstyn. The New York State Board of Regents, acting as the state's board of censors, banned the film in New York due to the film's portrayal of childbirth and showing a baby at its mother's breast. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.