Too much of everything

Absolutely Fantastic

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Nanook of the North is a 1922 silent documentary film, directed and produced by Robert J. Flaherty. Nanook of the North depicts the life of an Inuit family living near Hudson Bay in Quebec, Canada. The documentary takes us through various events that Inuits deal with in everyday life, such as hunting, dwelling and scaling the cold, barren Arctic wasteland. Nanook of the North shows us the hardships and constant fight for survival in the wilderness and shows us a very unique society these types of people live in. Flaherty's camera-work is magnificent, even in the cold plains of the Arctic, the documentary runs smoothly and feels crisp and perfected with a beautiful composition of classic melodies to break the silence and add tension when necessary. While the film runs smooth and does its purpose from a filmmaking point of view perfectly, Nanook of the North has at times been panned for being staged and forced in its production. Many claim is portrays a false image of Inuit life during its time, as many advancements had taken place in Inuit culture at the time of filming. Even names and events were faked to seemingly add drama and suspense. This realisation has often deterred many from the film, despite Flaherty claiming his intention was to portray traditional life of the Inuit people before Western influence. Overall, Nanook of the North is a hugely influential docudrama film with an intriguing look into traditional Inuit life, with beautiful harmonious melodies and crisp, clear camera-work, a hugely interesting and enjoyable film, with a slight sense of unfortunate doubt due to the controversies surrounding its production. 9/10

In this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuit living in the Arctic Circle.What is unfortunate about this film is how it can be seen as a docudrama more than a documentary. A film about the Eskimo or Inuit culture would have been fascinating and important, especially as indigenous cultures continue to fade away. Yet, we now know that much of this film was staged, with the "wives" being fake and a spear used for effect when the actual hunter typically had a gun.There is still historical value to the film, of course, but it must be taken with that grain of salt. The very fact someone brought a camera as far north as Flaherty did probably deserves some credit.

I found this film electrifying until, in reading more about it, I learned that some of the scenes were staged for dramatic effect - that Nanook, in the scene in which he bites on the record as though he hasn't seen one is really mocking us, that the Inuk use spears when in fact they hunted with guns, and that the race to construct an igloo at the end of the film were all staged. I found this sad. I don't think it completely devalues the movie though. Director Robert Flaherty still spent a great length of time with the people with whom he worked and we see a culture and a way of life that we would otherwise know nothing of. The shots of the family, the revelation about how to fit multiple people in a canoe, the disclosure of how to make an igloo, and the use of furs are all fascinating. I was sad to learn that Flaherty staged scenes for dramatic effect but this doesn't completely devalue this film. We see a lot of unvarnished glimpses of the spartan life which the Inuk undoubtedly lived. For that, I am profoundly grateful. I found this terrible and thought that it was a terrible manipulation of circumstances for dramatic ends. It's enough for me to rate this movie a significant amount lower. That said, it is very interesting.

This is one of the highlights in touching cinema IMO. Flaherty showed the world a harsh environment in a time when Cinema , radio and other ways of spreading the news was hardly available. he shows us a pure way of living , just touching the modern wonders of industrial civilization.Nannook , and his happy-go-lucky family manage barely to stay alive in their harsh conditions.still enjoying all things human.they laugh when having fun , they depend on each other , they make the best of live... Unbelievable how they can survive in an environment , without wood , metal , wool or whatever. they totally depend on animal harvest. in the DVD i saw there was a part in which Flaherty's wife explained the impact this film had in the 20-ies when it hit the world cinema's.... she also tells us that in the end Nannok did not survive nature....he died of hunger some time after the film was released , and when news of his death reached civilization , from Tokyo the Paris , people where grieving the death of this 'fellow-human being that so warmly touched the hearts of men.