Eschimo

Eskimo is a serious movie about the cultural chasm between an indigenous population and the encroaching white man. Although filmed in a documentary style seemingly with non-professionals, Eskimo is a skilled production that contains a believable story the audience will want to see through to the final shot.

The native Eskimo simply has different beliefs and behaviors about women and life than do the whalers that darken his landscape. When an Eskimo man loses his mate, it is natural that other men share their women with their friend. It is also usual for their women to want to take the place of the missing spouse. All of this seems natural in the context of the desolate foreboding Arctic setting. The trusting Eskimo falls prey to unscrupulous white whalers (with heavy European accents) that do not view these natives as their equals. Deceit, drunken orgies, rape, and death occur after the Eskimo men depart for work on the icy cold seas. Eventually the lead Eskimo (Mala) realizes that he has been duped and he takes his revenge. The audience would have cheered in the 1930's theaters.

Enter the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the moral dilemma of whether to bring back Mala for trial. The Mounties are played as feeling policemen that know this is not a cut and dry case. Will the Mounties get their man? Is it fair to hold Mala to a code of behavior outside of his traditional society? Is there a way out that does not punish Mala? Is it inevitable that the white man's law must prevail? Is there no hope for innocence?

This is not a great movie, but one that you will enjoy for the depth of the issue addressed in a very different setting. I suspect that the filming of the sequences with animals was done before today's disclaimer that none were injured in the making of the film -- so beware of the raw nature sequences. Highly recommended.

A film with a lot to unpack. I was really put off at the beginning of the film because of the lowlights below which soon become apparent, and it wasn't possible for me to overcome the conflicted feelings they gave me entirely, so I can't recommend the film without at least some reservations.

Highlights:

• W.S. Van Dyke transported film audiences of the 1930's to the Arctic, and some of the scenery he presents is outstanding. The caribou herd being stampeded out into a river during a hunt comes to mind, as do various shots of the swirling winds over a harsh snowscape.

• The film's heart is in the right place, showing the native people in a positive light and the Caucasians who intrude into their world as having evil racists among them. The white men of a ship locked in the ice barter for local women, and when they're not provided willingly, intoxicate and rape them. The captain looks at the native people as no more intelligent or feeling than "pigs in a barn." The protagonist of the story is Mala, a native, and he's shown to be honorable, not only saving a couple of white men buried in a snowdrift, but using his hunting prowess to keep an outpost fed during lean times. Our sympathies are with the natives, and in this way it's similar to Van Dyke's 'White Shadows in the South Seas' from 1928.

• The sexual freedom shown by eskimos is liberating, and it must have been quite a shock to puritanical American in 1933 to see partners shared and in such an open and direct way. While the film doesn't expand on the ritualistic aspects that sometimes accompanied this practice, it was indeed a part of the culture. It's done in such a humanitarian, understanding way; for example, Mala lets his wife (who is willing) 'lie down' for the night with a lonely widower. It reminded me of the 'free love' movement of the 1960's, and while it was spun up salaciously in the advertising for the film (see below lowlight), there is a disarming purity about it that's subversive to Western religious dogma, and only possible pre-Code.

• Having the natives speak in Inupiat, with translations provided via intertitle cards, was a brave choice, and adds to the film's attempts to immerse us in this world. As several of the main characters were not natives, however, apparently at least some of the dialogue was less than authentic.

• Van Dyke appears himself, and does a fine job as the Inspector who wants his men to heed regulations while bringing Mala in for questioning. Peter Freuchen, the author and adventurer whose books formed the basis for the movie, appears as well, as the lecherous sea captain.

Lowlights:

• Implication that this is a documentary. Like other 'expeditionary' films of the period, this is simply dramatic fiction, not a documentary. Unfortunately, this one starts by telling us "...The Expedition to the Arctic began in April 1932... In November of 1933, the record was completed..." which makes it seem like the latter, when in reality "the record" is really just "the film." If you want a documentary, seek out 'Nanook of the North' instead. It had the problem of scenes being recreated for the camera, but those issues don't come close to the problems this film has with respect to authenticity.

• Outright lie about the cast. The next title card tells us that "Excepting the characters of the Canadian Police, there are no actors in this record... entire story told by primitive Eskimos in Native tongue, in Native custom...", which is simply a falsehood. All of the leading dramatis personae are actors, and not natives: Ray Wise (renamed Ray Mala) was from Alaska and of half-Eskimo, half-Jewish origin, but had been a Hollywood cameraman since 1925. Lulu Wong, sister of Anna May Wong, was a Chinese-American born and raised in Los Angeles. Lotus Long was born in New Jersey to parents of Japanese and Hawaiian descent. Iris Yamaoka was also an Asian-American actress. These are the main characters amongst the natives, with the exception of a couple of Mala's male friends, and it's incredibly insulting to have them represented this way. To this day, the cultures are smeared together and there is a view that the cast was native, when the reality was they were mostly in the background or as extras.

• Despite its liberal outlook for 1933, the film still has a tinge of racial superiority to it, as well as a good dose of sexism. Mala and his people may be morally upright and skilled hunters, but they are consistently shown to be simple-minded, and the effect of the film seems to put them a little lower on the evolutionary ladder. "The white man is always right," Mala's friend tells him when he protests his wife being taken by the captain to be raped, and with the technical superiority and system of 'civilized' justice in the story, it's not clear that a part of this isn't the message, awful acts of some individuals notwithstanding. The women in turn are shown as being there for the sexual gratification of the men, to produce children, and to do things like sew animal furs together. Yamaoka's character is especially simpering and annoying.

• Van Dyke and Conrad A. Nervig can't resist editing in footage of tight shots of his actors in front of film backdrops during various hunting scenes. The film got an Oscar for Best Film Editing which is ironic, because this choice, an attempt to give us the 'hunter's view' when they just didn't have these shots, undermines the reality of what they did capture. Those scenes would have been much more powerful without them, particularly when viewed through the lens of today, when the backdrops look cheesy.

• Titillation over ethnography. The last introductory title card says "The Books by Peter Freuchen were notable for their discussion of the Moral Code of the Eskimos... this record attempts to present that Code... a strange, primeval Creed belonging to the farthest wilderness of the endless North..." I think we have to wonder, is the film truly trying to explain the culture and its moral code to us? The electric signs advertising the film read "Eskimo Wife Traders! Weird Tale of the Arctic!" Along these lines, early on we're giving a gratuitous shot of native woman breastfeeding her infant, something we'd never see of a white woman.

• Weak ending. Apparently Van Dyke's original ending was changed by the producer, and it was not for the better.

Mala is a great Inuit hunter. His family and friends are all well fed as long as he's around. They are all happy and comfortably. News come that white men in their floating house are trading guns for furs. Mala and his family set off to get one of the new guns. The white men want more than his furs which leads a series of ugly events.

I must warn animal lovers. There are some scenes of hunter and butchering. It's real and would be brutal for those animal lovers. The real action and real arctic living is some of the best parts of the movie. There is also the cast of real native people. The first part up to the event at the ship is really compelling. Mala is a charismatic actor despite being an amateur. The middle gets a bit slow although it has a crazy caribou hunt. The last part is interesting for the clash of cultures. The movie is a little long in the middle but it's very compelling with the reality of their world.

I was impressed by the beautiful photography in this film, which was shot on location in Alaska. Although technically a melodrama, we see lots of activities Eskimos are involved in, such as hunting, dancing, building igloos, etc. And their customs, such as offering their wives to visitors, are routinely in the story. The hunting sequences were sometimes from stock footage, as it was easy to recognize some rear projection scenes of animals, but even these were fascinating. Spear fishing for salmon, hunting for walrus, caribou and even a polar bear and a whale made it seem like a documentary at times. There was no cast listing, which reinforced the documentary flavor. The film-makers tried to make it seem very authentic, with the natives speaking only in an Eskimo language that was either translated by someone on screen or by intertitles. The introduction stated that except for the white traders and the Royal Mounted Canadian Police, there were no actors in the film, but this was not strictly true. The two leading characters, played by Mala and Lotus Long, were Eskimos by birth, but were professional actors with credits for earlier films and you could see sometimes they had makeup on. But they were excellent in their roles and they went on to have Hollywood careers. All in all, the film is definitely worth a look.

Nothing is more satisfying than to sit in a comfortable theatre, watching people freezing in the wilderness or parched, struggling through the desert. Probably inspired by Robert Flaherty's mega-hit silent, "Nanook of the North" (1922), "Eskimo" is very entertaining and involving: the portrait of the natives, their kindness and generosity is unforgettable. Their plight at the hands of exploitive, racist white people served as a template for many future western movies and TV shows. We're very grateful for this vivid portrait of these wonderful people and a world gone by.