Nanook of the North

Nanook of the North

A story of life and love in the actual Arctic.

1922 · 79 min · ★ 7.1 · Documentary, Drama

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

Directed by Robert Flaherty · Written by Robert Flaherty

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Cast

Allakariallak Nanook
Alice Nevalinga Nanook's Wife - the Smiling One
Cunayou Cunayou - Nanook's Daughter
Allegoo Allegoo - Nanook's Son
Allee Allee - Nanook's Son

Make it a double feature

2h 57m together

Nanook of the North

Moana

Both from Robert Flaherty.

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Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

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Moana

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Robert J. Flaherty’s follow-up to Nanook of the North shifts from the Arctic to the South Seas, portraying Samoan village life with a painterly eye. Blending ethnographic detail with a romanticized “Gauguin idyll,” the film celebrates daily rituals, communal traditions, and the passage into adulthood, suffused with what Flaherty called “pride of beauty, pride of strength.”

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A little girl watches the craftsman at work while inter-titles explain the particulars of pottery-making.

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Why We Fight: The Nazis Strike

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The Titan: Story of Michelangelo

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