Films & Events
The Necessities of Life
Tivii, of the Baffin Island Inuit, quietly supports his family by hunting on the frozen lands of Canada’s Far North until modern society intrudes on his corner of the world. Diagnosed with tuberculosis by Canadian authorities, Tivii is forcibly removed from his family and quarantined in a Quebec City tuberculosis sanitarium. For Tivii (Natar Ungalaaq, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner), everything seems alien—and of course, no one speaks Inuktitut. He manages to establish a connection with Carole, a compassionate nurse, but he eventually slides into depression as he realizes his treatment might last up to two years. Seeing his despair, Carole orchestrates the hospital transfer of Kaki, a similarly afflicted Inuk orphan boy who’s been separated from his native culture for many months. With his feet in both the French-Canadian and Inuit worlds, Kaki acts as Tivii’s translator. Tivii also takes a fatherly interest in Kaki and tries to refresh the child’s lapsed knowledge of traditional Inuit customs and myths. Inspired by a real tuberculosis epidemic that broke out in the Inuit population in the 1940s and 1950s, The Necessities of Life is a profound story of culture shock and barrier-transcending human connections.
Sponsors:
Canadian Studies Center, Longhouse Media, Quebec Government Office, Los Angeles
Cast & Crew
Director: Benoît Pilon
Producer: Bernadette Payeur, René Chénier
Editor: Richard Comeau
Screenwriter: Bernard Émond, Benoît Pilon
Cinematographer: Michel La Veaux
Awards: Jutra Awards 2009 (Best Film, Actor, Screenplay)
Montreal World Film Festival 2008 (Special Jury Pri
Music: Robert Marcel Lepage
Principal Cast: Natar Ungalaaq, Paul-André Brasseur, Eveline Gélinas, Vincent Guillaume Otis, Antoine Bertrand
Filmography: Nestor and the Forgotten (2006); 3 soeurs en 2 temps (2003); Rosaire and the Petite-Nation (1997)
World Sales: Seville Pictures
Average rating:
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(1 review)
user reviews
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A gentle but powerful film about being human, Jun 11, 2009
By Mimi Noyes
“Really lovely, touching, and beautiful film all about an Inuk Inuit being taken away from his wife and daughters during the 1940's because he has tuberculosis, only to end up trapped in a sanatorium with no one who understands him and no one to talk to. As his depression reaches suicidal levels, a”
… full review
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