Vision Man

This film is structured round a collection of memories delivered to-camera by elderly Eskimo hunter Utuniarsuak Avike as well as modern footage of a hunter on the ice with his dogs. To some degree this film drew me in because it was in the Avike's language and looked like it was going to be an indigenous culture foreign to me. Now, in a way, it was but it didn't really do it to any extent worth talking about. Instead it offered more potential as an interesting film about an old man looking back with interesting and touching memories.

It kind-of does this in some moments and when it does it is actually quite interesting. At these times it is touching to listen to this man at the end of his life fondly remember the small moments of beauty across the lifetime before. There is a point back here and it did make me reflect on the nature of life and memory. However for the majority of the time it is actually pretty dull and is rambling and lacking a central point or even theme. Avike is charming and engaging enough but he isn't used well enough and his memories are spread thin across the film and I never got the chance to find poignancy from them or anything.

As a result the film does drag on with just about enough of interest to justify keeping watching. Those easily won over by the "mysticism of the indigenous peoples" might buy into it more than I did but for me it was a vaguely interesting jumble of missed potential. It looks great though and it is shame that Long's writing is not up to the standard of his direction.