When Robert Flaherty and F. W. Murnau become disillusioned with Hollywood, they seek a new path. They head to the South Pacific island of Bora Bora, Tahiti. Here, the documentary pioneers and expressionist masters sought to collaborate with the locals. He trained indigenous people to serve as his crew and cast his main actors locally. Cinematographer Floyd Crosby was the only Hollywood professional on the crew. The result is Tabu: A Story of the South Sea, a story of young lovers who fall victim to the taboos of the region. Told in two chapters, "Paradise" and "Lost Paradise," the main characters, a native couple, run away in defiance of the taboos imposed on their tribe. They arrive on another island where the culture of the French colonizers has taken root, but there they are doubly targeted. A tribal tracker still following pre-modern superstitions is after them, and a modern colonial government wants to arrest the lovers to settle a dispute. The film is driven by a mixture of longing for the most primal landscapes and pure civilization, and the frustration that there is no paradise anywhere. Robert Flaherty was originally attached as a co-director, but after disagreements, the film was eventually announced as Murnau's sole directorial effort. However, Flaherty's presence is evident in the film's documentary approach and collaboration with indigenous people.