Nuummioq

I just saw this at the Film Festival in Washington DC. It is up for several awards. We were fortunate enough to have one of the film's directors available for Q&A.

Some of the plot elements difficult to understand are uniquely Greenlandic. The tourist woman who dies is a Greenlandic legend about wandering the world and then returning home only to die just before reaching Greenland. The two small totems brought home from the cave have something to do with marriage and are somehow related to strong family ties.

This film is quite evocative, the music is Greenlandic. The use of the music is different from most other film types. It may have something to do with the Greenlander's ability to live with long strong silences.

The film is more impressive once you know that the actors are amateurs. For all of them, this is their first full length film; the lead actor pays his rent by carpentering; the family unit is really related to each other.

The Greenlandic language is interesting. You can hear strains of German, Danish and English. There is a strong guttural sound to some of the consonants.

I agree with one of the other reviewers that the published summary has little to do with the actual film.

I wonder if Mikisoq H. Lynge, who wrote IMDb' Storyline, actually saw NUUMMIOQ? Because if he/she did then why is the Storyline inaccurate? I did in fact see the film. Here is a copy of the storyline, and my revisions to the CAPITALIZED inaccuracies: "After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Malik joins his best friend on his last boat trip into the fjord. Malik is a 35 year old carpenter living in Nuuk. Things are starting to look bright in Malik's life, when he's diagnosed with terminal cancer and faces a difficult decision: Leaving his hometown to receive medical care that would perhaps prolong his life - or stay in Nuuk with family and friends and die within a few months. Malik and his childhood friend Mikael decide to go on a the last boat trip into the fiord, WHERE THEY SEEK OUT THE CAREFREE WORLD OF THEIR CHILDHOOD. (This is not true at all. They did NOT go on the boat trip to "seek out the carefree world of their childhood." They went on the boat trip because Mikael, who is Malik's COUSIN, wanted to take pictures of the iceberg for a TV commercial.) During this boat trip, the two friends REDISCOVER THEIR FRIENDSHIP (As I said before, Malik and Mikael are COUSINS. They might've grown up together as if their were friends, but the bottom line is that they're family--blood relatives! They share the same grandparents, who are an important part of both of their lives. This would not have happened if they were just FRIENDS?! I'm not sure why Mikisoq H. Lynge insists on calling them "friends"? Another thing--Malik and Mikael were already close so they did not have to go on the boat trip to REDISOVER their friendship.) and Malik is given an opportunity to come to terms with his own imminent death." I just thought I would straighten out that Storyline. I think I know why Mikisoq H. Lynge changed it in some places. He/she probably wanted to make NUUMMIOQ sound a lot more interesting than it actually was. Overall, the film was all right, but it was nothing to write home about. I guess the biggest problem I had with the movie was that I found it contrived in some places. **SPOILERS ALERT** For example, wasn't it convenient of the writer(s) to have Malik come across a strange woman who killed herself on the first night of his boat trip thereby forcing him to reevaluate his mortality? Wasn't it also convenient to have Malik's boat run out of gas on their way home thereby forcing them to seek help from the sheep farmer who they make amends with before Malik's death? Finally, wasn't it convenient to have Malik's girlfriend be able to go out on a date with him on the night before he is about to leave for Denmark so he can explain to her his medical condition? I believe NUUMMIOQ had good intentions, but it was difficult for me to relate to or empathize any of the characters due to the "contriveness" of the story.

Few of the people involved in making this movie had done it before. That's the most impressive part about this movie. At the same time: it shows. Tarantino learned about making movies by directing his first film, My Best Friend's Birthday - and in it you can clearly see that he is just beginning to learn what he is doing. The same goes for Nuumioq.

There are many good ideas in this movie. I like how they use Nuuk and surrounding areas. How it shows a Greenlandic family, and how people talk to each other in Greenlandic/Danish. The cancer storyline is interesting too. These ideas are not enough to cover up the inexperience of the people behind the movie, but it really shows the potential in the people involved.

Greenlandic cinema still has some way to go, but it is looking promising.