(Ce qu’il faut pour vivre) Based on an actual tuberculosis epidemic that swept the Far North of Canada in mid-century, “The Necessities of Life” is set in 1955, when Tivii, an Inuit hunter (Natar Ungalaaq, “The Fast Runner”) is diagnosed and taken from his village on remote Baffin Island for treatment at a hospital in Quebec City. Director Benoit Pilon, documentary-trained, tells the story gently, amusingly, capturing loneliness well, but also the culture clash with paternalistic but essentially clueless doctors and bureaucrats. There’s a quiet Canadian elegance to it all. “Necessities of Life” was Canada’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. With Éveline Gélinas, Paul-André Brasseur, Vincent-Guillaume Otis, Antoine Bertrand, Guy Thauvette, Louise Marleau. 102m. (Ray Pride)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
Chicago Salvation: Life, Movies And Uptown's Hurricane Billy A maker of hard-to categorize films, William Friedkin forged a career in his own way, fueled by arrogance, boastfulness, bravado, confidence, self-assurance and moral questioning, a Chicago working-class autodidact who grew up poor in Uptown.
Seeing The Elephant: A Review Of Babylon The boisterous, brawling yet melancholy "Babylon," is a variation on film history, but more drawing for drama. It's gaudy and mean, celebratory and sorrowful.
Heart: A Review of Soul The real world is soulful, too, in Pixar's bountiful life of the mind.
RECOMMENDED
