Notes

Film/BlackRobe:
* AintTooProudToBeg: Inverted. Chomina explicitly ''forbids'' both LaForgue and Daniel to beg [[spoiler: when they are to be tortured by the Mohawks, as per local custom this will only make the ordeal far, far worse]].
* AllThereInTheManual: LaForgue's first name is Paul. It's mentioned ''nowhere'' in the film.
* {{Bishonen}}: Daniel is young, pretty and quite effeminate.
* BlackCloak: The eponymous "black robe" referrs to the cloths worn by the Jesuits. It's also how they are known among the natives.
* BlatantLies: Daniel claims he wants to accompany LaForgue in his mission "for the greater glory of God", but he's there only for Annuka. The Jesuits still take him on the journey, despite knowing he's lying to them, as they need every help they can get.
* BloodFromTheMouth: [[spoiler: Being shot with an arrow (and still having the arrow-head stuck in his side), Chomina slowly succumbs to his countless wounds and starts coughing more and more blood along their journey]].
* BodyHorror: The priest LaForgue met back in France to help him prepare for the New World was maimed and disfigured purposefully by the natives... and yet he still wants to willingly to go back and try proselytize once more.
-->'''Maimed Priest''' We must convert them. What more glorious task than that?
* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Since it takes place among Algonquins, Mohawks and Hurons, it's pretty accurate. Notable, some of the French settlers are also shown wearing bits and pieces of native gear, including even de Champlain, who dons a ceremonial cape before negotiating with Chomina.
* BrutalHonesty: Both LaForgue and Chomina are ''very'' open with what they think and what are their chances of succeeding with just about anything. In case of LaForgue it's implied he got it from his mother.
* CoitusUninterruptus: An Algonquin couple has sex in the middle of a tent, with everyone else present and asleep, utterly ignoring them. Notably, when LaForgue wakes up, he doesn't move or do anything and after a brief moment of staring, he also goes back to sleep.
* CrisisOfFaith: The entire escapade is one huge test of faith for LaForgue.
* CultureClash: Constant, on every possible step, including often innocuous situations, like LaForgue trying to explain what writing is, only to be taken for a demon when Daniel reads his note without any oral passage of information.
* CunningLinguist: Subverted. It is noted even by LaForgue himself his Algonquin is awful and each time a new group or a tribe meets him, they instantly pick up how strange his speech patterns are. He still does his best to use their own language, rather than French, thou.
* DeadpanSnarker: LaForgue almost constantly snarks at fellow Frenchmen, to the point of outright spitting venom at some.Alternatively, he has a ''truly'' morbid sense of humour.
* DeconstructorFleet: A very thorough deconstruction of all missionary fiction along with [[NobleSavage romantic take on natives]] and [[BoldExplorer exploration of unknown lands]].
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Forceful baptism of a dying person is strongly frowned upon in modern Catholic Church, the consent is outright demanded.
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler: Father Duval was murdered by one of the Hurons, most likely with a hatchet to his face. He never had a chance to close his eyes. Meanwhile, when LaForgue finds one morning father Gerome dead in his bed, the old man's eyes remain open, suggesting he ''wasn't'' asleep when he passed away]].
* DistractedByTheSexy: [[spoiler: Annuka crawls to the guard in the Mohawk village and proceeds to have sex with him... then bashes his head open with a wooden log right when he's too busy with a climax to react]].
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: [[ForegoneConclusion Considering the historical events]], the story couldn't really end well. Even if LaForgue eventually manages to reach the mission and ''probably'' convert the local Hurons, the final card flat-out admist he will at best play the role of UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom for them]].
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler: LaForgue buries father Duval, who was deliberately left untreated in the chapel by the Hurons]].
* DwindlingParty: PlayedWith. [[spoiler: Most of the Algonquin simply abandon LaForgue and Daniel. Only the closest family of Chomina travels with him back to retrive the priest and all of them but Annuka die. Ultimately, LaForgue asks Daniel to stay with her and leave him alone, to fulfill the prophetic dream of Chomina where the priest travels alone]].
* EndOfAnAge:
** Chomina acknowledges the dependence on gifts from the French is the beginning of the end of his people, fully knowing the exchange is unequal and there is no real way to stop or applease the white people.
** [[spoiler: The elders in the mission reflect the real concern Hurons had when facing Jesuit missionaries - accepting new faith in the all-or-nothing form presented by "black robes" will be equal to stop being Huron and will destroy their culture and ties within the confederation, leading to pointless fractionalism. [[TruthInTelevision This is exactly what happend to Hurons eventually]]]].
* EvilJesuit: A few of the Jesuits are shown as pretty unscrupulous — notably, one lies [[spoiler: to the Huron and tells them that baptism will cure their fever]] — and the film is certainly critical of the Jesuits' missions as a whole. In the same time though LaForgue is a genuinely good guy, who honestly believes he is helping people. His Algonquin guides, however, are pretty wary of him, since he wears the eponymous [[BlackCloak black robe]], sleeps separately from everyone else, and refuses to have sex with the women.
* {{Fingore}}: All over the place, since Mohawks routinely cut fingers of their captives.
** The carpenters in the opening discuss a missionary who ended up with just two fingers left, one to each hand
** The priest preparing LaForgue back in France lacks several fingers, too, along with [[BodyHorror other mutilations]].
** [[spoiler: When captured by Mohawks, LaForgue gets his left index finger cut in half with an oyster shell. The Mohawk chief is quite impressed, since the Jesuit didn't made a sound]]. And it's all shown in detail
* FluffyCloudHeaven: The main reason why the Jesuits have such hard time converting natives is because this is how they describe Heaven and Paradise to them. The natives find the concept ''immensely'' unappealing.
* ForeseeingMyDeath: [[spoiler: Chomina has a vision of the place where he is going to die, but he doesn't realise this until he's there and actually dying. He then expresses regret that he never realised the meaning of his dream, as he could have been a fearless warrior if he had known]].
* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: Eventually LaForgue realises that not only he is surely going to die horribly (something he already partially accepted before even departing into the wilderness), but he is a flawed person due to his desires and prideful nature. He proceeds to TurnTheOtherCheek from then on]].
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Samuel de Champlain, as an old, tired man. The plot starts during his final year as a governor of the New France.
* HonorBeforeReason: Chomina decides to [[spoiler: go back and help the black robe]]. He ''openly admits'' this is stupid, but it's still his honour at stake and it's better to die than break an oath.
* HumanSacrifice: [[spoiler: The Mohawks are planning to burn Annuka on a stake as a sacrifice to their god]].
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: After arriving to the New World, Daniel is bored with the settlement. Rather than having adventure of his life, he's doing the same carpentry job he was doing back in France and openly yearns for leaving Quebec.
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: [[spoiler: Eventually Chomina admits LaForgue might not be completely stupid, while the priest accepts his will to die unbaptized]].
* LifeWillKillYou: It is noted several times by different characters surviving a winter is an achievement all by itself, even is such "civilised" place like Quebec.
* TheMissionary: ZigZagged. The Jesuits obviously want to convert the natives, but due to severe CultureClash the Algonquins assume "black robes" must be demons, as they act weirdly, have even stranger customs and never have sex. LaForgue himself is a doubtful and somewhat self-righteous man, yet in the same time he really wants nothing but the salvation of those people within the frame of his own religion.
* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler: When realising he was always dreaming about his own death, Chomina laments to Annuka he could have been a better, braver and wiser chief if he knew in advance what the dream ment. If he knew the moment of his death, he could approach so many situations in the past differently]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: All that LaForgue achieves in the end - ''[[AmbiguousEnding if]]'' [[AmbiguousEnding he achieves anything]] - will lead to the undoing of Hurons and their complete wipe-out by Iroquois]].
* NightmareSequence: Chomina has a recurring nightmare, in which he's in some unknown island, weak and dying, with a raven picking his eye. All while in the distance, a black robe walks alone. It is implied in dialogues he had this nightmare for ''years''.
* {{Precognition}}: [[spoiler: The recurring nightmare turns out to be this. Chomina instantly recognises the place from his dream as the one where he will die. He only asks to be left there, being already mortally wounded]].
* ReversePsychology: [[spoiler: After escaping from the Mohawks, LaForgue suggests they still go up-river to the Huron mission, as the Mohawks will rather assume they tried to go downstream to join fellow Algonquins. Chomina agrees, finally admitting the jesuit is not that stupid as he looks]].
* RiddleForTheAges: What was LaForgue confession?
* RiverOfInsanity: [[spoiler: Both Chomina and LaForgue get more and more anxious as they travel up-river, while members of their expedition get less and less loyal. In the same time, the missionary is slowly, if surely {{going native}}, at least as far as his moral compass goes. And this is portayed as a ''[[DeliberateValuesDissonance good thing]]'']].
* ScarpiaUltimatum: [[spoiler: Annuka willingly has sex with a guard in Mohawk camp, but right when he climaxes, she bashes his head in and proceeds to free rest of her expedition]]. The entire sequence is ''very'' explicit, even compared with other shots and scenes containing sex.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: [[spoiler: The three Huron elders talk about how their enemies will learn about their weakness if they embrace Christianity and this will lead to the doom of their entire confederacy. Still, they on their own decide to baptise... and right after that final card informs how Hurons were deliberately wiped out by Iroquis fifteen years later]].
* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler: LaForgue reaches the remote mission and starts to work there. Some of the Hurons accept Christianity... which lead to tribal fractionalism, weakening of already barely holding confederacy and eventual brutal conquest and massacres by Iroquis just fifteen years later. Oh, and the Jesuits missions in the area were disbanded or abandoned soon after that. The final card really doesn't beat the bush about any of it]].
* ShowSomeLeg: Annuka actually ''has sex'' with [[spoiler: the Mohawk guard to distract him and then clobbering him in the face with a piece of a log]].
* ShownTheirWork: It's a faithful adaptation of a very well-researched book, going another extra mile during filming to keep things as close to recreation of the period and culture of different native tribes as only feasible.
* SignatureStyle: The CultureClash and being torn between two worlds, fitting neither, is the main theme of Bruce Beresford's other works. It is worth noting Beresford wanted to adapt (and direct it) the novel the moment it was published.
* StockSoundEffects: [[spoiler: When LaForgue and Daniel are forced into running the gauntlet by Iroquois, stock sounds of being hit are used. It fits the scene just as much as you expect]].
* ATasteOfTheLash: After witnessing Daniel and Annuka having sex and lusting over it, LaForgue takes off his robe and starts self-flagellation with a branch of a pine tree, praying for forgivness for his carnal desires.
* TranslationConvention: Since there is subtitled (for the most part) Algonquin and Mohawk spoken extensively by various characters, the fact English is used to represent French really stands out.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never learn what happend to [[spoiler: the rest of the party. The fate of Daniel and Annuka also remains unresolved]].
* WillNotTellALie: While his brutal honesty rubs people wrong way most of the time, LaForgue never, ever tells a lie. Even if it would be just easier or simplier. Most importantly, he [[spoiler: informs the Hurons baptism won't cure them, but they might still ask Jesus for help on their own]].
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler: The Mohawk chief slash the throat of Chomina's son. Right in front of Chomina, who is strip naked and forced to continue singing as the boy bleeds to death]].

YMMV
* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The whole story is flat-out depressive. A young, idealistic missionary goes through hell and high water to reach a remote mission, in the process leading to death of several of his guides. All in bleak, cold wilderness. The main character always remains alienated and a stranger to the people around him, unable to find the right place. And after all the hardships and apparent success of LaForgue's missionary work, the movie ends with a short card informing how it was all moot, since Hurons ended up wiped out just 15 years later. The explicit nature of violence and torture only makes things worse. And all of this is ''deliberate'', because the main purpose of the original novel and thus the adaptation was to play the story as realistic as possible, stripping it from all the romanticism and adventuring cliches. This led to a very solid film that is also very hard to stomach.