THE JOURNALS OF KNUD RASMUSSEN (Canada/Denmark)

Atanarjuat was a phenomenon. The debut feature by Zacharias Kunuk, an untrained filmmaker, won the Camera d'Or at Cannes, Best Canadian Film at Toronto, and four Canadian Academy Awards including Best Film and Best Director. Atanarjuat received worldwide theatrical distribution and good critical response. As an ardent admirer, it made my list of the Top 10 films of 2002. This follow-up, another immersion into the Inuit culture into which Kunuk was born, premiered at Toronto without fanfare before a brief theatrical release in Canada. It received a nomination for Costume Design by the Canadian Academy and lost. The film, co-produced by Canada and Denmark, appears destined to theatrical release exclusively in those two countries. This sophomore effort, co-written and co-directed by Norman Cohn, is not quite a slump, but certainly a disappointment. It's based on the titulal journals by the explorer/adventurer who first crossed the Northwest Passage via dog sled. Rasmussen, along with anthropologist Therkel and trader Peter, visits the shaman Avva and his family. They live some distance from Iglulik, his original tribal settlement. Avva and his wife Orulu share their life stories and culture with the visitors. Their daughter Apak is shown favoring the spirit of her deceased husband over her live second one when it comes to satisfying her sexual needs. Apak's brother Natan takes Therkel and Peter to Iglunik and Rasmusen heads west. Avva and others also decide to travel to Iglunik despite adverse conditions. Nearly starved, they arrive to find that the community has converted to Christianity. The leader seems willing to share his food only with those who acquiesce and attend mass.

Both Kunuk films have great anthropological import and awesome arctic vistas but The Journals of Knud Rasmussen fails to coalesce into a compelling narrative, it meanders without focus for most of its running time. It's an hour shorter than Atanarjuat but feels longer because of its aimlessness. This time, I couldn't help but notice the directors' lack of finesse as they zoom in and out of subjects without apparent purpose during indoor scenes. Certain dramatic tensions involving Apak are never developed, and Rasmussen comes into the film and leaves it without consequence. The film comes to life when Avva returns to Iglunik. There is a powerful scene in which the viewer realizes the silent characters lurking in the background while Avva and Orulu were storytelling are actually Inuit spirits about to be painfully dispatched. The cultural loss experienced by all targets of Christian missionaries is forcefully conveyed.