When I was a teenager in Baton Rouge, La. in 1986, I saw a large newspaper ad for this movie, Belizaire the Cajun, in my local paper, the Morning Advocate (now simply The Advocate). Among the critics that praised the movie in the ad was one David Foil who wrote his full-length reviews that appeared every Friday in the FUN section every week. I don't remember him having one of this in any FUN section but the fact that this got such a large ad in our paper obviously meant that this was a very important movie for Louisiana citizens based on the subject matter and the fact that the filmmaker, writer/director Glen Pitre, came from the state. Having now seen Belizaire the Cajun 21 years after its original release, I can now say what an awesome drama about the Cajuns and their struggles against the prejudice of certain white Americans who settled in The Pelican State, this is. Armand Assante plays the title character, who is a healer of various illnesses, with such a sense of humor and pride in his heritage that you're with him all the way with his attitudes on various peoples that upset him. Among them are Will Patton as the father of the children of Gail Youngs who has a history with Assante, and Stephen McHattie who is Patton's brother-in-law and seems to hate Assante and his people even more than Patton. Michael Schoeffling, best known as Molly Ringwald's crush Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles, plays a cousin of Assante's who gets in trouble. And someone related to director Pitre named Loulan plays the sheriff. Plus there's a cameo by Robert Duvall, who helped get this film made, as a preacher. All of the performances I've just mentioned plus others are excellent as well as the Cajun music played by Michael Doucet and Beausoleil. Without giving anymore away, I'll just say the cliché, you'll laugh and cry and possibly think of how far we've come culturally a century or so since those times. And maybe hope to find someone to dance to the wonderful Cajun music that's presented here...

This amazing film tackles cultural barriers, time and love. It is a visually stimulating film and it has surprisingly well known actors to boot! (Wasn't Belizaire's cousin the same man who played Jake from 16 Candles!) The main child character Dolsin is played by a gem of an actor. Such untapped talent! The way he threatened the main character was so real, I felt like I had been threatened by Dolsin myself. The costumes, especially Belizaire's hair, accurately portrays the evolution of the trends in Louisiana. The music was absolutely accurate and I believe you can still find dem ol cajuns barefooted and dancing around with a squeeze box and a wash board. I'm not sure what else to write. I'll leave you with this thought "I'll take two, I lose dees..."

Absolutely brilliant! Why none of the cable networks haven't made it into a series is beyond me. Probably best enjoyed by those over 30 who like intelligent fare. The director's sense of humour and humanity remind me of Francois Truffaut's best work. Armand Assante turns in an excellent performance in the title role of Belizaire.

Having grown up in Acadiana and having some of that blood running through my own person, I didn't have to look to this movie to get a historical understanding of the people in the story. However, anyone who didn't grow up in Louisiana themselves knows either nothing, or stereotypical inaccuracies (which is worse), about Acadians (Cajuns). It's too bad the movie couldn't have shown more of this aspect in order to give its viewers a more genuine representation and history. The acting in the movie was, for the most part, very good, as was the story . My main problem with the movie is the almost total lack of French. I understand that there are white people in the movie who spoke only English, but it would have been much more accurate had the Acadians been speaking Cajun French amongst themselves. That aside, the movie is enjoyable and not inaccurate in its representation of a people and their culture.