Review of Nanook of the North (1922) by Cindy I — 27 Jun 2010

A ground-breaking documentary on the life of a family of "Eskimos" as they try to survive in the cold of a Hudson Bay winter. Robert Flaherty gave the world an insight into the lives of a people unlike any they had seen before. This film is the grandfather of every "Day in the Life" doc since. It's said that many of the scenes were staged -- some by necessity due to the limitations of filmmaking of the time -- but that doesn't take away from the impact of the film.

Most parts of the family's life is on display...eating, hunting, play and sleeping all play a part in this film. Particularly fascinating is the footage on building an igloo from blocks of packed snow, including a "window" made from clear ice. They even made a tiny igloo for a litter of puppies! One humorous scene shows Nanook, the head of the family, getting out of a kayak, with his entire family -- wife Nyla, another woman (mom, sister?), three children and a dog following right behind. Funny because they all crawled out of the bottom of a boat that appeared to hold only one person.

If this film has any flaws, it's that I wanted to know more about these people and their lives. What were their clothes made of? Where did they go to the bathroom? What language did they speak? Did the children go to school?

One cautionary note: There are several scenes of apparent cruelty to animals, including sled dogs left out in brutally cold weather, and graphic scenes of hunting and butchering animals, and the eating of raw animal flesh.

A fascinating film that hasn't lost its power even after nearly 90 years.