Canadian Film Forum

Grand_Shaman · Administrator Data inscrierii: 26/Oct/2007 Mesaje: 112

Discuss here about the importance of Robert Flaherty's first documentary, "Nanook of the North", about the strengths and limitations of his approach to the indigenous.

Grand_Shaman · Administrator Data inscrierii: 26/Oct/2007 Mesaje: 112

We had a long and --I think-- fruitful discussion the other evening -- and btw, thanks for (over)staying!-- about "Atanarjuat" and the way this film expanded our mental representation of the Inuits.

More contributions are expected here. This is a film that grows on you, and one may discover new facets and angles over time...

maria daraban · Junior Data inscrierii: 02/Dec/2009 Mesaje: 4

It was a very good documentary which offered us autentic information about the real Canadians and their history and the aboriginal people. With nowadays technology, it was a bit strange to watch a mute film, but I think that what a good documentary needs is quality and accuracy, not necessarily special effects.

ralucarat · Trimis: 20/12/2009 18:43 Titlul subiectului:

At the beginning I wasn't very thrilled that I'm going to watch a mute film, but in the end I can say that it worths the effort. It was interesting to see in images what I knew from different written sources about the Inuit life. Despite the primitive and limited techniques of shooting a film, Robert Flaherty made quite an astonishing documentary, a history in images of an Eskimo family, living in the frozen wastelands. It is a unique perspective on Eskimo culture and traditional life. This documentary gives the viewers the opportunity to see the harsh primitive world of the Eskimos and their continuous fight for surviving in a cold and frozen environment. What I really liked was that scene with the iglo-building, I will definitely remember it! :-P

And also the way in which the written sections integrate between different moments in the documentary. I found this idea quite useful in the dynamic of the film.

Maybe it will be useful for us, The Romanians, to have some documentaries like this one about our "First Nations" history. Maybe we will treasure it better. But do we have a Robert Flaherty here?
It is just a thought!!!
_________________
Raluca Rat

ana_leonte · Trimis: 11/01/2010 12:44 Titlul subiectului:

I loved this film from the first time when I saw parts of it on Youtube, last year. It is the first mute documentary that I’ve ever seen (and hopefully not the last) and it impressed me very much. The fact that it was black/white and it didn’t have dialogue (only inter-titles) didn’t bothered me at all. I like how Flaherty, despite his technical limitations succeeded to do such a good job, to play with light as he did and to show such dramatism in his hunting shots. Regarding the fact that he was accused of doing a “romanticized” story, I consider that he had no choice. Why? First I find it inappropriate to judge his work, in terms of contemporary ideas regarding documentary movies. He was a pioneer, he didn’t have a standard to take in consideration. Second how would the white audience react if they knew how many wives an Inuit could have for example? They could identify themselves with the characters easier, they could understand them better if the characters were seen as having a similar family structure. Let’s not forget that the way of thinking (the mentality) in that period was more rigid regarding “the savages” (as the Inuit could have been perceived) than in our times. The fact that all the action took place in a different environment and the characters confronted another kind of challenges day by day (other than the challenges the spectators confront in everyday life) is making this movie interesting to watch. Third: Flaherty had a previous attempt to do a movie that deals with the Inuit life, but the first one didn’t succeed to draw the attention of his friends. And this was an “honest” film. He filmed here all that he have seen, without interfering with their customs and traditions.
In spite the fact that he presents Nanook as being “the noble savage”, and we see no family conflicts in this movie, and in some parts the truth is distorted, I don’t think that Robert Flaherty wanted to do a fiction movie. He remained faithful to himself in presenting as truthful as he could the things that impressed him in the Inuit community.

I want to say something about the way this film could have helped the Inuit community 60 years later, when they’ve seen it. Although it was very late, in my opinion “Nanook of the North” confirmed their bonds with the past, with their ancestors; it raised their awareness on their cultural heritage and brought them a sense of national identity.
_________________
"Death solves all problems - no man, no problem." :D > Smile

adela_bm2007 · Trimis: 01/02/2010 10:59 Titlul subiectului:

Premier documentaire, Nanouk l'esquimau fascine années plus tard. Robert Flaherty tente de magnifier la vie quotidienne, simple et répétitive des esquimaux de la région d'Ungawa. Evidemment, pour y parvenir, le réalisateur a dû probablement jouer avec la réalité ; il est probable que chaque scène soit en fait un montage de plusieurs tournages différents, afin d'obtenir des plans variés. Au final, l'oeuvre est un condensé d'images. Même si plusieurs doutent de l’honnêteté et de la véracité des faits démontrés dans se film, il reste un moment d’anthologie unique en son genre. En fait que le film ne soit qu’une mise en scène est peu important, toutes les mœurs et agissements de cette petite famille d’Esquimaux restent valables.

Les séquences sont intéressantes et on ne peut qu’être impressionné devant la débrouillardise de ces gens qui vivent dans ces régions inhospitalières.La photographie, d'une beauté remarquable, m’a particulièrement frappée pour cette époque. La composition des images est admirables et le film passe très vite.

Un documentaire impressionnant, tant pour sa modele que pour sa magnifique photographie. À voir pour son importance dans l’histoire du cinéma, mais aussi, pour son contenu,les images composées et irréelles, de scènes touchantes et d'une grande humanité. Le muet convient parfaitement à ces paysages.

Grand_Shaman · Administrator Data inscrierii: 26/Oct/2007 Mesaje: 112

Gabi Rosus · Trimis: 07/07/2010 20:48 Titlul subiectului:

I think is important for the Innuit people to have someone like Mr. Flaherty that have the courage to make a documentary with and for the Innuit people. The whole documentary, regardless of the mean comments, was able to shed some light about the struggle in the frozen land.
Did help them over the years? Maybe not realy, but I think they deserve as much advertisment as the fellows in the much warmer climate, the American Indians. They are a nation and they deserve respect, even though they might not be as advanced culturally as other nations.