The Last of the Mohicans Film Review

The Last of the Mohicans Film Review

Primary Focus: Directed by Michael Mann, The Last of the Mohicans is centered

around a primary plot with much action and drama. To begin, the movie starts with two

sisters that have recently arrived at the colonies: Cora Munro and her sister Alice Munro.

They are both being escorted to their father, Colonel Munro by a troop of his British

soldiers. . Along the way they are ambushed by a Huron war party led by Magua the

villain and an evil warrior who wants revenge against General Munro. Munro's soldiers

are wiped out and Cora is almost killed by Magua but is saved at the last moment by

Hawkeye, a white man raised by the Mohican tribe. Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook

volunteer to escort the sisters and Major Heyward to Fort William Henry. On their way,

they come across the outcome of brutal murders against their colonial friends. Once

again it was a Huron war party so Hawkeye warns the colonial militia men stationed at

Fort William Henry of the future threat on their colonial homes and helps a few of them

escape. Along the way, Hawkeye and Cora fall in love with one another and so do Uncas

and Alice. But Hawkeye is imprisoned for going against General Munro's direct order

and trying to inspire a rebellion. Meanwhile, the French continues their relentless effort

to overtake Fort William Henry. Eventually, realizing that it is hopeless, Colonel Munro

surrenders his troops under the giving conditions of the French. But it's not that simple

since the leader of the Huron warriors, Magua, vows vengeance on "the gray hair,"

General Munro and his daughters. While surrendering, a battle takes place between "the

red coats" and Magua's people. Eventually, Cora and her sister get caught by Magua and

there are further consequences; Cora and Alice are going to be killed. Hawkeye tries to

sacrifice himself for Cora, but Major Duncan Heyward tells the chief to take him instead.

So Duncan burns at the alive, and is shot by Hawkeye to ease his suffering. Uncas is

killed by Magua while trying to save Alice; Alice, upset over Uncas's death, takes her life

by falling off the cliff. Chingachgook then kills Magua in a decisive battle for killing

Uncas. Chingachgook, Hawkeye, and Cora make it out alive; Chingachgook cries,

because he is the last of the Mohicans.

Director's Primary Aim: Michael Mann, the director of this epic film, does a great job

with providing the spectator with some insight to human nature. Mann demonstrates to

the spectator the cultural destruction most previous societies had to deal with. In my

opinion, Mann tried to persuade the audience that cultural destruction is not a man-made

problem; rather it is something that comes and goes with cultural destruction. For

instance, the most evident example would be the death of the Mohican tribe, sparked by

the murder of Uncas. This event acts as a smaller event that eventually ignites the

destruction of the Native-American culture. In addition to affecting the people of the

culture, cultural destruction also greatly affects people outside of the culture. For

example, Michael Mann puts great emphasis on how the extinction of the Mohican tribe

cost Alice Munro her life; she jumped off a cliff because her love, Uncas, one of the last

members of the Mohican tribe, was killed in a fight with Magua. As one can see, cultural

destruction is not only one of the director's primary aims in the film, but it is undoubtedly

also something that occurs within human nature.

Significant Statement: Throughout the movie, a recurring significant statement is that

race does not have any role in true love and devotion. For example, towards the end of

the story, Hawkeye loves Cora so much that he wants to be killed by Magua instead of

Cora. Although, Hawkeye is technically a "white man," he feels more comfortable with

his adopted family, therefore signifying interracial love. In addition, the plot also features

Uncas falling in love with Cora's sister, Alice. Uncas falling in love with Alice is

extremely important when talking about interracial love because they both eventually die

for one another; Uncas gets killed by Magua and Alice jumps off a cliff because she has

lost her loved one, Uncas. Lastly, the significant statement is well represented throughout

the