Nanook of the North

Nanook of the North
In 1920, exploring American anthropologist Robert J. Flaherty traveled alone, with camera in hand, to the remote Canadian tundra. There, for over a year, he lived with Eskimos, documenting their daily lives and returning to his editing studio with the raw footage. The result of his rigorous study was groundbreaking; with Nanook of the North, Flaherty pioneered both a new cinematic genre, the narrative documentary, and created a timeless drama of human perseverance under the harshest of conditions. Flaherty obviously understood the charisma of one Eskimo in particular, Nanook, and much of the film's warmth, humor, and charm come from the mutual respect and sympathy between the filmmaker and his subject. Flaherty possessed an acute eye for simple detail and his presentation of the stark climate and unique culture remains breathtaking. Flaherty also had a knack for editing and manipulation, and along with pioneering a new cinematic form, Nanook too raised all of the problematic ethical dilemmas that still face documentarians. Many of the famous sequences--the seal hunt, the building of the igloo--were actually staged for "authenticity" purposes, thus starting debates on whether documentaries could truly capture truth or reality. Then there's the presence of the camera and whether that in itself alters or disrupts the natural behavior of its subjects. Yet, despite Flaherty's tamperings, there's no denying the film's power, its wondrous sense of adventure, and the touching portrait of one of cinema's truly courageous heroes. --Dave McCoy
Customer Review: A flawed, but invaluable film.
If you have any interest in documentary filmmaking, indigenous film, ethnography, or a related field, you should absolutely see 'Nanook.' Having said that, I'm always shocked at how little context the average viewer has before they take this film in. Sure, maybe a first viewing of a film that sets so many precedents should be undertaken unprejudiced, but any meaningful understanding of this film can only take shape with some basic knowledge of the debates and discourses that surround it. The movie, as I'm sure many reviewers before me have explained, is ostensibly an ethnographic document of an Inuit hunter named Nanook's struggle to survive with his family in the area around Hudson Bay. The film documents a number of activities that, depending on your level of cynicism, either represent the Inuit lifestyle at a particular period in time, or are selected for their potential novelty to members of the film's eventual audience. Either before or after your first viewing of the film, know this: the wildly inaccurate intertitles aren't the most misleading thing about this film. Rather than be exhaustive about the film's inaccuracies, I'll let you seek out your own information. I will mention that by the time Flaherty was making this film, Inuit hunters were using rifles. Also, Nanook's family aren't exactly his family. They're really just the most photogenic Inuit that Flaherty could find to fill the roles. Flaherty argued that he was trying to document a set of Inuit cultural practices that were in danger of slipping into the ether. Whether this is entirely sincere or not, who knows. But beyond deciding whether or not you like the movie (which is a more basic and personal consideration), you need to know this so you can try to understand what Flaherty's getting at here and see the cinematic world he presents in its own, highly specialized and hybrid context. The film itself is a delightful watch. It continues to be entertaining, regardless of whether or not you're into silent film. Criterion's print looks fantastic and the music they've put it to is appropriate. That's all bonus, though, because the movie will always be the foundation upon which so much important work was built, so as soon as you know it exists and is relevant to your interest, you should watch it. Just be sure to dip into the discourse surrounding it at some point during the window of time when the film is occupying your thoughts. You'll see the film and its many, diverse successors more clearly for having done so.
Customer Review: Opinion
An interesting film that tries to capture the Inuit Culture, while today it would be hailed as a Mockumentary given the information latered learned about "Nanook" being more modern than presented it is still informative and interesting.