The Necessities of Life

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The Necessities of Life

2008

1h 32m

Drama

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

A dedicated nurse keeps an Inuit hunter alive in a hospital intended for white people.

Dan Kois

Washington Post

06/30/2010

A well-acted but dreary drama of clashing cultures.

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

10/14/2020

It's a quiet but deeply moving story that arrives at a beautiful affirmation of what we all share as humankind.

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Brian D. Johnson

Maclean's Magazine

01/02/2018

The story, scripted by Bernard mond, is so spare, and its world is so bleak, that Ungalaaq's performance seems to take place in a void.

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Dominic Corry

Flicks (AU, NZ, UK)

04/15/2010

4/5

This gorgeous and affecting drama makes a strong case for the simple restorative power of communication.

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Nora Lee Mandel

Film-Forward.com

12/02/2009

8/10

Combines poignancy with realism for a touching yet not overly sentimental exploration of an Inuit man and boy's deep need for family and tradition in a Quebec TB ward.

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02/13/2015

Beautiful photography. A heart-rending story which will resonate with everyone who has had contact with indigenous contact experiences.

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07/11/2012

Fascinating, heartbreaking tale spun like an Inuit legend.

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08/17/2011

I'm not one to like art house films much, but this is a really beautiful, emotional one with outstanding acting. I wanted to get to bed as it was 3am, but had to watch this until the end!

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05/02/2011

The necessities of life was added to Netflix Canada last week so I was happily surprised as this was #1 on my cinemail queue, meaning I could get it for free instead of wasting one of my 2 mailed DVDs. I digress, this is a film about how an Eskimo is abruptly taken from his family to recuperate from TB in a Quebec City hospital where he doesnt speak any French and finds himself extremely lonely. Its an unusual topic, all things considered but an interesting story nonetheless and it deals with the issues very well. I enjoyed the acting of Natar Ungalaaq very much, he has an expressive face and you cannot help but warm to him, he brings a lot of warmth and character to the role of TiiVii. The ending is incredibly and unnecessarily sad, I got annoyed at that because the film would have been much better for a happy ending I think. The vogue these days is to not do a happy ending but I for one think that the happy ending should make a comeback. Favourite scene : TiiVii and the preist convince the elder to allow him to adopt Kaki by lying about his Catholic credentials.

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07/15/2010

Classique, mais intÃ©ressant. Les thÃ¨mes sont abordÃ©s avec justesse, et l'acteur inuit est Ã©patant.

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07/09/2010

The Necessities of Life is an interesting story of an Inuit who has to leave his family and home behind for medical treatment in Quebec. It explores the cultural gap between Inuits and French Canadians. I enjoyed the drama of the film and it was well acted. I liked how there was no forced humour in the film. Great watch.

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Benoît Pilon

Director

Natar Ungalaaq

Tiivii

Guy Thauvette

Actor

Louise Marleau

Actor

Éveline Gélinas

Carole

Paul-André Brasseur

Kaki

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Synopsis

A dedicated nurse keeps an Inuit hunter alive in a hospital intended for white people.

Director: Benoît Pilon
Screenwriter: Bernard Émond
Production Co: Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC), Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit, Astral Media, Téléfilm Canada, Radio Canada Télévision, Super Ecran, Société de Développement des Entreprises Culturelles (SODEC), Association Coopérative des Productions Audio-Visuelles
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 13, 2020
Runtime: 1h 32m

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