peter-towney The scenery of the movie is the first thing that really captured me. By the time I'd decided I'd seen enough of that, the main story had come to life and it's both poignant and optimistic. Probably good for people who want to see how different cultures engage when they are forced to and how tensions develop and are sometimes resolved. Relationships explored: The man and his wife and daughters; The man and the nurse; the man and the other patients; the orphan and the man; the Inuit and French Canadians.This is similar to the story of "El Nido," available on eKindle, which looks at how different cultures interact.It's interesting to see the way that the more educated French Canadians as well as the other French Canadians interact with people from another land.

Eric I came across this movie just by accident on Sundance Channel. I quickly read the synopsis and decided to give it a chance. Boy, was I pleased. This kind of film is so beautiful in so many ways. It immediately introduces us viewers to a place and to characters we might never come across in life and then asks us to figure out ways to relate on basic human levels to them. Especially because of the terseness of the main character, Tivli, I was made to feel his feelings through his eyes and gestures and the actor certainly did a great job conveying what he did.I was very impressed by the story, the direction, the filming and the acting. Only one thing bothered me - but it was necessary for the film to progress... that is that it did not seem to occur to the doctors and nurses to find someone to act as a translator for Tivli right away. Clearly, the people on the hospital ship had such abilities, so others must have had them too. Perhaps this can be explained away, but I cannot imagine a language barrier such as this being ignored for as long as it was in the story. Otherwise, as I say, great film!

druid333-2 And believe me,we need good more good quality films from Canada (and thankfully,I'm pleased to report that this film is said such film). 'Ce qu'il faut pour vivre',or as it is being distributed in English speaking countries as 'The Necessities Of Life' is taken from true accounts of an outbreak of tuberculosis in Canada,as well as North America,from just after the end of World War 2 (1946),until the mid,to late 1950's. In this case,the story centers on Tivii,an Inuit hunter & family man (played by Natar Ungalaaq,star of 'Atanarjuat:The Fast Runner'),who had contracted TB,and had to be detained in Quebec, in the south of Canada,for rest cure. While there,he experiences isolation and loneliness. When he tries to escape & walk the distance back home (without success),he resigns himself to just try & get better. During his stay,he befriends a kind hearted nurse,Carole (played by a radiant Eveline Gelinas,star of several films for Canadian television,as well as cinema),and a young 10 year-old Inuit boy,named Kaki (played by first timer,Paul Andre Brasseur),who turns out to be an orphan. Tivii takes a real shine to both the boy,as well as Carole,and the three form a bond of friendship. Film maker,Benoit Pilon,who's previously directed mainly documentaries for Canadian Television,turns to his first time directing a fictional film (but based on actual events from Canadian history),from a screenplay written by veteran fellow Canadian writer/director, Bernard Emond (The Lady Who Drinks)to create a fine film that can easily touch the heart & warm the human spirit. This was Canada's entry into the Academy Awards for best foreign language film for 2008 (but obviously got the s**t end of the stick). Spoken in Inuktitut & French with English subtitles. Rated PG by the MPAA,this film serves up a rude word,or two,and the horrors of tuberculosis.

Blondmonkey5 Review: The Necessities of Life/Ce qu'il faut pour vivre 9*/10It's a tale of hopelessness, terror, confusion and desperation, and Ungalaaq makes you feel all of that. The Necessities of Life has done well on the festival circuit and was Canada's entry for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar this year, although it didn't make the final cut to be in the running Sunday. Language barriers are no problem with sub-titles, but even without them I think the film would still work just in how Ungalaaq manages to get so much across with expression and pitch. Éveline Gélinas as a sympathetic nurse is also very good, as the relationship between her and Tivii shows that common language is not an impediment to either friendship or understanding. I also liked Denis Bernard in a small role as a sympathetic priest that tries to help Tivii adapt an orphaned Inuit that's also a patient in the hospice; some genuine laughs are mined out of their visit to the monsignor. This proves that things aren't all black and white in the story. The actions of the government are not driven by I think some imperialist mentality, but by the notion that they were genuinely doing all right by the Inuit by taking them far from home and treating them in spite of everything. Their self-deluded altruism may have blinded them to certain facts on the ground, but Necessities isn't a story about the right-or-wrong of government policy. It's the story of one man's struggle to get some semblance of control of his situation, and whether or not he can maintain a sense of self so far from home. It's a simply powerful story that works its magic in small and unexpected ways.At times filled with humor and warmth and at others feeling compounded by isolation and a hint of claustrophobia, Necessities of Life reaches out from the past and across cultures to remind us how fragile we are in a number of equally important ways. Is one's health worth a trip hundreds of miles away from home and being thrown into the deep end of some strange culture? It's a tough question, and while I think I know my answer, it's up to the audience to make up there own minds as to whether Tivii's journey made him the worse for ware, or worn for the better In examining what constitutes the necessities of life, Pilon presents a variety of options – communication, belonging, acceptance and family. But chief among them is dignity. Seen at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.