Nanook of the North (1922)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.9/10   

Réalisateur:

Robert J. Flaherty

Writers:

Frances H. Flaherty (idea)
Robert J. Flaherty (writer)

Release Date:

11 juin 1922 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Accroche:

A story of life and love in the actual Arctic.

Plot:

Documents one year in the life of Nanook, an Eskimo (Inuit) and his family. Describes the trading, hunting...

Plot Keywords:

Inuit | Eskimo | Kayak | Snow | Igloo

Awards:

1 win

Avis des utilisateurs:

Tehnically Remarkable for 1922

Ensemble

Allakariallak	...	Nanook (as Nanook)
Nyla	...	Herself (Nanook's wife, the smiling one)
Cunayou	...	Herself (Nanook's wife)
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
Allee	...	Himself (Nanook's son)
Allegoo	...	Himself (Nanook's son)

Autre(s) titre(s):

Nanouk l'Esquimau (France)

Durée:

79 min

Pays:

USA | France

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Son:

Silent

Classification:

Portugal:17 (original rating) | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Québec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Germany:6 | Spain:T | UK:U (re-release) (1947)

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Hudson Bay, Québec, Canada

Company:

Les Frères Revillon

Anecdotes:

The film was sponsored by French fur company Revillon Freres which provided $50,000 for Flaherty's 16-month expedition halfway to the North Pole. Despite being rejected by five distributors, the film opened in New York City in 1922, after its success in Paris and Berlin, and grossed well over $40,000 in its first week.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le dernier trappeur (2004)

Tehnically Remarkable for 1922

This is a fascinating documentary from Robert Flaherty, a very prolific director of early documentaries. He follows the adventures of the Eskimo Nanook, and we get to see what life was like for the Eskimo in the early 20th Century as we watch Nanook with his family, hunting for food, and building igloos.

This is really amazing stuff for 1922. It feels like it could have been made long after that. That's probably due to the fact that it relies on real settings and real people. It's not bound by the restrictions of manufactured sets, costumes, etc. of the period. However, though it looks utterly authentic, don't be fooled into thinking that Flaherty gives us a purely realistic snapshot of Eskimo life. He planted the early seeds of reality t.v. with this film, making careful use of editing to create a narrative with all of the melodramatic trappings of any studio picture. Though it's a fascinating film, it's also a reminder that documentary film is just as manipulative as fiction, and that Michael Moore wasn't the first to corner the market on presenting fiction as fact.

Grade: A