Customer Reviews

Journals of Knud Rasmussen

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The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, the second film in Igloolik Isuma's Atanarjuat trilogy, is a quiet masterpiece. Featuring the uncompromising beauty of Arctic Canada, with an Inuit cast (and mostly Inuit crew), this wonderful film presents a true story of cultural cooptation and survival with subtlety and dignity.

On a 1922 expedition to the Canadian Arctic, the Danish explorer Knud Rasmussen and his companions encounter the shaman Aua and his family. When asked why they reside so far from other communities, Aua's family responds with a playful imitation of Christian hymns sung in Inuktitut. Beneath the humor, Rasmussen (and the viewer) learn about the tensions between Aua's community, who strive to maintain their traditional beliefs, and a nearby Inuit Christian community headed by Umik,a charismatic preacher who determines the course of his congregants' lives, from distributing their food to deciding who can marry whom.

The tension between these two belief systems comes to a head in the dilemma of Apak, Aua's daughter, who had a romantic relationship with Nuqallaq, Umik's son, and also remains connected in spirit with her deceased husband. The community's heart-wrenching choice depends upon Apak: whether to embrace Christianity (whose proponents offer food and warm places to stay, among other benefits) or to continue adhering to the traditional beliefs and taboos that have kept the people and their culture alive.

The actors bring both talent and genuineness to their roles. Pakkak Innukshuk invests Aua with humble dignity and authority. Leah Angutimarik emanates controlled strength as Apak. Together, these two fine actors create an intergenerational tension that simmers under a placid diplomatic surface. The other members of the cast live their parts with a minimalistic intensity that's refreshing for viewers saturated with the overwrought dynamics of popular films, where everything--from bombs to relationships--explodes.

This film is not for the viewer who's in search of a fast-moving plot and action. The story unfolds in an understated way that belies its profundity. Some viewers might find the pace slow and, if they're unfamiliar with Inuit culture, some events and ideas incomprehensible. These details are not explained; one needs to be patient and allow the experience to unfold in order to gain understanding.

A lot has been written (and filmed) about the demise of aboriginal cultures, often from an outside perspective. Igloolik Isuma's work is so valuable because it comes from an inside perspective and offers a more nuanced view of the negotiations traditional societies make between the demands (and temptations) of the "modern" world and the values and practices that have allowed people to thrive in relationship with their land and community. Although The Journals of Knud Rasmussen ends on a note suggestive of the imminent demise of Aua's culture, the ongoing project of this indigenous production company is to celebrate the transmission of traditional knowledge and life-ways, through the community's elders, in order to sustain a very much still living, vibrant society.

It`s an outstanding chance to get a view of a dissapping world. The iniuts have challenge the ice, the fight for food against a hard nature. Chistianity and "good" people were not options to fight against.

I was satisfied with this..., it arrived fairly quickly, sooner than I had expected and I cannot get the movie here so...