A film with a lot to unpack. I was really put off at the beginning of the film because of the lowlights below which soon become apparent, and it wasn't possible for me to overcome the conflicted feelings they gave me entirely, so I can't recommend the film without at least some reservations.
Highlights:
Lowlights:
Highlights:
- W.S. Van Dyke transported film audiences of the 1930's to the Arctic, and some of the scenery he presents is outstanding. The caribou herd being stampeded out into a river during a hunt comes to mind, as do various shots of the swirling winds over a harsh snowscape.
- The film's heart is in the right place, showing the native people in a positive light and the Caucasians who intrude into their world as having evil racists among them. The white men of a ship locked in the ice barter for local women, and when they're not provided willingly, intoxicate and rape them. The captain looks at the native people as no more intelligent or feeling than "pigs in a barn." The protagonist of the story is Mala, a native, and he's shown to be honorable, not only saving a couple of white men buried in a snowdrift, but using his hunting prowess to keep an outpost fed during lean times. Our sympathies are with the natives, and in this way it's similar to Van Dyke's 'White Shadows in the South Seas' from 1928.
- The sexual freedom shown by eskimos is liberating, and it must have been quite a shock to puritanical American in 1933 to see partners shared and in such an open and direct way. While the film doesn't expand on the ritualistic aspects that sometimes accompanied this practice, it was indeed a part of the culture. It's done in such a humanitarian, understanding way; for example, Mala lets his wife (who is willing) 'lie down' for the night with a lonely widower. It reminded me of the 'free love' movement of the 1960's, and while it was spun up salaciously in the advertising for the film (see below lowlight), there is a disarming purity about it that's subversive to Western religious dogma, and only possible pre-Code.
- Having the natives speak in Inupiat, with translations provided via intertitle cards, was a brave choice, and adds to the film's attempts to immerse us in this world. As several of the main characters were not natives, however, apparently at least some of the dialogue was less than authentic.
- Van Dyke appears himself, and does a fine job as the Inspector who wants his men to heed regulations while bringing Mala in for questioning. Peter Freuchen, the author and adventurer whose books formed the basis for the movie, appears as well, as the lecherous sea captain.
Lowlights:
- Implication that this is a documentary. Like other 'expeditionary' films of the period, this is simply dramatic fiction, not a documentary. Unfortunately, this one starts by telling us "...The Expedition to the Arctic began in April 1932... In November of 1933, the record was completed..." which makes it seem like the latter, when in reality "the record" is really just "the film." If you want a documentary, seek out 'Nanook of the North' instead. It had the problem of scenes being recreated for the camera, but those issues don't come close to the problems this film has with respect to authenticity.
- Outright lie about the cast. The next title card tells us that "Excepting the characters of the Canadian Police, there are no actors in this record... entire story told by primitive Eskimos in Native tongue, in Native custom...", which is simply a falsehood. All of the leading dramatis personae are actors, and not natives: Ray Wise (renamed Ray Mala) was from Alaska and of half-Eskimo, half-Jewish origin, but had been a Hollywood cameraman since 1925. Lulu Wong, sister of Anna May Wong, was a Chinese-American born and raised in Los Angeles. Lotus Long was born in New Jersey to parents of Japanese and Hawaiian descent. Iris Yamaoka was also an Asian-American actress. These are the main characters amongst the natives, with the exception of a couple of Mala's male friends, and it's incredibly insulting to have them represented this way. To this day, the cultures are smeared together and there is a view that the cast was native, when the reality was they were mostly in the background or as extras.
- Despite its liberal outlook for 1933, the film still has a tinge of racial superiority to it, as well as a good dose of sexism. Mala and his people may be morally upright and skilled hunters, but they are consistently shown to be simple-minded, and the effect of the film seems to put them a little lower on the evolutionary ladder. "The white man is always right," Mala's friend tells him when he protests his wife being taken by the captain to be raped, and with the technical superiority and system of 'civilized' justice in the story, it's not clear that a part of this isn't the message, awful acts of some individuals notwithstanding. The women in turn are shown as being there for the sexual gratification of the men, to produce children, and to do things like sew animal furs together. Yamaoka's character is especially simpering and annoying.
- Van Dyke and Conrad A. Nervig can't resist editing in footage of tight shots of his actors in front of film backdrops during various hunting scenes. The film got an Oscar for Best Film Editing which is ironic, because this choice, an attempt to give us the 'hunter's view' when they just didn't have these shots, undermines the reality of what they did capture. Those scenes would have been much more powerful without them, particularly when viewed through the lens of today, when the backdrops look cheesy.
- Titillation over ethnography. The last introductory title card says "The Books by Peter Freuchen were notable for their discussion of the Moral Code of the Eskimos... this record attempts to present that Code... a strange, primeval Creed belonging to the farthest wilderness of the endless North..." I think we have to wonder, is the film truly trying to explain the culture and its moral code to us? The electric signs advertising the film read "Eskimo Wife Traders! Weird Tale of the Arctic!" Along these lines, early on we're giving a gratuitous shot of native woman breastfeeding her infant, something we'd never see of a white woman.
- Weak ending. Apparently Van Dyke's original ending was changed by the producer, and it was not for the better.