Original subtitles

(somber music)

(growling)

(choral music)

(somber music)

- [Narrator] On top of the world,

nearer to the North Pole than to any civilized area,

there lived members of a singular race of nomads.

They are so proud that they call themselves

simply, The Men.

We, in turn, call these people Eskimos,

meaning eaters of raw flesh.

And in the age of the atom bomb,

they still hunt with bow and arrow.

They share whatever they own

and they are so crude they don't know how to lie.

In this region of eternal ice,

it is no yet decided whether man or bear

is crown of creation.

But as plentiful as are the bear,

so the women are scarce.

And this man, Inuk, does not have a woman of his own.

For a long time he has known the importance of having a wife

to give orders to.

One who would sew his garments, make his mittens,

mend his boots and laugh with him,

which means the same as making love,

an important factor when a third of the year is night.

(people laughing)

(giggling)

- Anarvik, Lulik.

- Inuk.

(laughing)

The sound of your voice is good.

- It is the end of last winter

and you're still in bed.

- The winters seems short for us.

(laughing)

How was it for you?

- No woman to laugh with.

- Oh, too bad.

- There's hot tea.

Have some and talk.

Gossip.

When are you going to make up your mind to take a wife?

(laughing)

(slurping)

- Anarvik, this man has come to ask

about the daughters of your brother.

- We have expected them for two years.

They'll come.

- Maybe.

- Maybe.

- By now, others may have taken his daughters.

(Anarvik and Lulik laughing)

- Inuk, you're leaving us?

- Why don't you cheer him up?

- Make yourself beautiful.

- Hey! Hey!

- Inuk!

- Oh.

- So little stay after a long journey?

- Dogs are hungry.

It is necessary to go hunting.

- Alone?

- Maybe.

- You may laugh with my wife for awhile.

You have permission.

A little change does her good.

Makes her eyes shine.

- You're a great friend, Anarvik.

But, Anarvik,

this man is tired of asking for favors.

He wishes to laugh

with a woman of his own.

Till then, Anarvik, he prefers to go hunting.

- You're rude and ungrateful!

- Not rude.

Proud!

- Rude! Ungrateful!

To refuse a man's offers!

It's insulting.

- Anarvik, it was not meant to insult a friend.

(groaning)

- Hiya!

(dogs barking)

- Anarvik.

(sea lions barking)

(sea lion honking)

(somber music)

(growling)

(Inuk growling)

(upbeat music)

- Inuk!

(dogs barking)

Ho.

Inuk.

- Quiet.

- Inuk.

- Quiet.

- A man has something to say to you.

- One thing at a time.

Here, give someone a hand.

(groaning)

Anarvik, I thank you for permission to laugh with your wife.

This man was rude and ungrateful.

- It is forgotten.

So is the bump.

- You wish you bump me?

You may.

- And lose the seal?

Better to tell you we have visitors.

- Who?

- My brother is dead,

but his widow, Powtee, and the two daughters have arrived.

- So?

What are they like?

- Women.

- [Narrator] When a seal is captured,

there are certain rituals and practical things

to be taken care of.

The first is this.

Since seals live in salt water,

they are always thirsty and the hunter must do

as these hunters are doing.

The soul of this animal

will tell the souls of the other seals

that it has received a drink of sweet water,

then they too will come up and try to get caught

in the hope of getting a drink.

(Anarvik hollering)

(laughing)

(upbeat music)

- Ho.

- Are you satisfied?

- What are their names?

- Imina,

Asiak and their mother.

- Inuk.

- Imina?

- Asiak.

- Oh.

The distance was great for three women to travel alone.

- Kiddok traveled with us.

- Kiddok is here?

- He thought three women could not protect themselves.

- Oh.

- That seal's that small.

- Nobody wanted to kill it.

He insisted on being caught.

(women giggling)

- Where's Kiddok?

- Kiddok happened to hear the sound of walrus.

Naturally, he went to hunt.

- Oh.

- It's good hide.

- It's only a baby seal.

(somber music)

(laughing)

- [Narrator] They are careful not to touch any meat

when they eat fish.

For if they do, they will arouse the anger

of the protective spirits.

The girls are not too young to accept the heart of a man,

but the heart of a seal is taboo.

Asiak's mother has warn her teeth to their gums,

softening hides.

So her daughters do for her as she did for them

when they were babies.

- Let's all eat.

(upbeat music)

(laughing)

Oh look!

Hey, it's all falling out.

(laughing)

- Welcome, Kiddok.

- Kiddok!

It has been more than a season.

Come.

- The walrus disappeared, but ll came across this small bear.

Killing it could not be avoided.

It is so small, a single girl could eat it.

- Kiddok.

- Inuk.

(chanting)

(chanting)

(laughing)

(groaning)

(giggling)

- For someone who is so impatient,

the man seems very slow in waking up.

(giggling)

- This hunter will leave now

and come back with the biggest seal

two stupid girls have ever seen.

- Another hunter has already gone after such a seal.

- Kiddok?

This hunter will come back with a walrus.

- You will do better to stay with the girls.

(laughing)

- [Anarvik] The sled is now ready.

(laughing)

(dramatic music)

Well, Inuk,

who do you like better?

Imina or Asiak?

- Decision is difficult.

This man likes both women.

Why choose?

- You must make up your mind

or you'll never get wife.

(barking)

(choral music)

Inuk, listen to me.

Everyone knows one woman is as good as other.

- But a woman is not a seal or even a walrus.

A woman is a...

- Take Asiak.

- But someone like Imina.

- More important than a woman is a man makes up his mind.

(dramatic music)

(rumbling)

(foreboding music)

(somber music)

- Anarvik.

- Huh?

- Look.

(walruses barking)

(groaning)

(walruses barking)

(dramatic music)

(Anarvik hollering)

(dogs barking)

(upbeat music)

(laughing)

- Somebody wants to show Imina this baby walrus.

- Kiddok has left,

taking with him my other daughter.

- You see?

(laughing)

- It happens somebody wanted Imina.

- Kiddok has given me a bow and a new lamp

so the marriage is made.

- Oh, so.

Here's baby walrus.

Here's bears skin.

Here is snow knife.

Now Imina is married to me.

- Why don't you take little Asiak?

- This man has made decision.

- Of course, she's just as worthless,

but there's nothing Imina can do that Asiak can not.

- But someone wants Imina and not Asiak.

- Imina was yours for the asking.

(laughing)

- It will be easy to catch Kiddok.

- But your dogs are tired.

- Still much faster than his.

And when he is caught, someone will shove a knife

in his throat.

Cut out his tongue and put it on top of his head.

Cut off his ears and stuff them in his mouth.

Then someone will open his chest

and fill it with ice.

- If you kill him,

no one will ever admit you in his igloo again.

- Not even you?

- No.

- But even a seal would do the same

if another seal took his woman.

- A seal could kill and still have the company

of other seals.

But a few things make a man different from a seal.

- [Inuk] Somebody will give him a good clubbing.

- Good.

- But if he puts up resistance, this one sways,

he shall be Killed.

- If you can't help killing him,

eat a bit of his liver to conciliate his ghost.

An angry ghost is very dangerous.

- Yeah.

- Why don't you take Asiak along?

Then it will be easy to make an agreement with Kiddok.

He has paid for Imina and we can not

let him go empty handed.

This old and useless women will live

with whichever husband takes Asiak.

- Oh.

- Maybe you're not so stupid.

(dogs barking)

- Ho!

Ho!

(somber music)

(dogs barking)

Hey, Kiddok!

Kiddok!

Asiak, come!

We're going to Kiddok.

Kiddok, I catch you.

(laughing)

- Why are you chasing Kiddok?

- To catch Imina.

You must be stupid.

- Ho!

Ho!

(dramatic music)

(wind blowing)

Asiak! Asiak!

You get up.

Help make igloo.

Help.

- Women stay here!

- You stay, freeze.

(wind rushing)

(somber music)

(dogs howling)

- Why don't you sleep?

- Someone's feet are too cold.

(somber music)

(dogs barking)

- Inuk.

(laughing)

- Look.

(somber music)

- Hi Inuk.

We saw you follow us.

- Someone has come to take Imina.

If you put up resistance, someone will kill you like a seal.

- Why not stay with Asiak?

- Someone does not want Asiak.

- She can scrap hides and sew boots

and do all the other little things that women can do.

- This one wants Imina.

Because...

(laughing)

Because.

- Nobody can force woman.

Imina is free to go with you if she wish.

- Oh, so.

- In that case, will Asiak join a worthless hunter

that does not want to travel alone?

(somber music)

- Yes.

(laughing)

- You hurry.

(dogs barking)

- Here.

My mother goes with us.

- We will take her.

Hut!

(dogs barking)

- Whoa!

Hey!

Someone has changed his mind.

I will take Asiak after all.

- But you said one woman was as good as another.

Take whichever woman you want,

as long as you reload my sled.

(laughing)

- You come on.

You come.

Go.

(somber music)

- Kiddok.

- Asiak.

Asiak?

(Inuk laughing)

(Asiak groaning)

- A silly woman is not so easy to put down like a bear.

- Asiak, you're my wife.

We must not fight, we must laugh.

- Yes.

This one is your wife,

but you have chased Imina for fourth-tenths of the sun.

So you will have to chase this one

at least ten times as long.

(somber music)

(enchanting music)

(barking)

(bear growling)

(foreboding music)

- This hunter will attempt to kill a bear.

- Send the dogs on him.

- We might lose some.

We have none to spare.

- But dogs are faster.

- This stupid man will use a slower, but better, way.

Soften this.

(growling)

Here.

(bear grunting)

Hey! Hey!

This whale bone springs open,

the bear will get stomach ache.

(bear growling)

(Inuk grunting)

Hey look!

Hey look!

(growling)

(foreboding music)

(howling)

(grunting)

(growling)

- The dogs would have been faster.

- You're a great hunter.

The blade has just sprung open.

(grunting)

(ominous music)

(bear groaning)

Soon you will rest for long time Nanook!

(laughing)

You are as easy to find as Kiddok.

(laughing)

A hunter can rest as well as the hunted.

You would rest better.

- Stop.

(laughing)

(moaning)

(laughing)

A stupid man is happy.

He made up his mind.

- A girl is grateful a great hunter accepted her mother.

- Oh, for a man, another mouth to hunt for is not too much.

(groaning)

- Now he has two useless women.

- Now he has a wife.

He is proud to have a woman of his own.

Oh, next time we see Anarvik

and we have a cup of tea,

we say, "Anarvik.

"Oh, Anarvik, my friend.

"This man has no more favors.

"No more permission.

"From now own, you ask permission

"to laugh with my most desirable wife, Asiak."”

- He couldn't even giggle.

(laughing)

(bear growling)

(gun shot firing)

- Inuk.

- Hey!

Hey!

- Good man has required you ask permission

before you touch someone's bear.

- But you didn't kill it.

- We have been chasing this bear for three days.

- But you didn't kill it.

- No, of course not.

It was already dying from our spring bait.

- No.

- No?

Perhaps it died of fright from big thunder

you might have heard.

- But this man Kkilled it.

- Oh.

How?

That?

Has no sharp point. No cutting edge.

You didn't club bear.

(laughing)

How could you kill?

- This one will show you.

(booming)

(laughing)

- Asiak.

Look.

- You may touch it.

- Oh.

- To use it well, it is placed here.

Press it here.

(booming)

My igloo is not far off.

A worthless wife will make you some tea.

But first a hunter must skin his bear.

Hiko.

Asiak.

Inuk.

Very good bear hunters.

- You killed this bear?

- Uh.

- We did.

- So many useless skins.

Are they good for mops?

(laughing)

- You know of the white man?

- It is not impossible.

- The white man has no liking for frozen fish and old meat.

And he likes fox skins too much.

- But he has many guns.

And you like the ermine tail as much as the white woman.

Very pretty.

- [Hiko] He lives in great house of wood.

- Wood.

- It is sticky with heat

and he suffers from cold all the time.

- He is very stupid.

But for enough of the fox skins,

he would give you a gun such as this

with which you will kill your own bear.

- So.

- This is what the white man calls trade.

- How many skins necessary to have such a gun?

- Five times a man, counted to the end.

- Oh.

- Someone could bring muskox and caribou hide.

Much better.

- White man wants fox skins only.

He's brain isn't very sharp and his likings are queer,

but that is what he wants.

(gun shooting)

(booming)

(laughing)

- Somebody only wants to show how it works.

- Bullet jump back.

- That shows the power of the gun.

It sleighs any animal from a distance.

That is if you don't hit the wall first.

- This hunter must have such a gun.

- When you have piled up a hundred fox skins,

present yourself at the trading post,

which is four rivers south and say,

"Ittimargnek sends me."

- Ittimargnek.

- And the white man will give you such a gun.

Then you'll be able to buy your wife

such beautiful things as mine.

(booming)

- Oh, such a gun.

Asiak.

From now on, we follow the fox.

(laughing)

(somber music)

- [Narrator] That year, the animals of the north

around Inuk had the happiest and most carefree

summer of their lives.

(dogs barking)

The dogs still pursued the bears and held them at bay,

hoping Inuk would join them for the Kill.

But he never came.

The great hunter had almost forgotten to feed his family

and make provision for the coming winter.

Only one though occupied his mind.

The fox.

(enchanting music)

With the hundred skins he needed for his gun,

Inuk, Asiak and Powtee set off for the trading post,

a journey that took one full summer and one full winter.

- Asiak, look!

(enchanting music)

(barking)

- Hey.

Ho.

Ho.

(somber music)

Hey, we are here.

- So?

- So, get off.

You too.

Help.

(chuckling)

- Hey, look at that.

(laughing)

- My father should see this.

He's always saying that the bear

have disappeared from the bay.

- The reverend was here before you had it pretty hard.

Young fellas like that were hardly civilized.

- Bear?

- Bear?

Wolf.

(laughing)

- Whole family?

(laughing)

(laughing)

- Nice game.

Now, someone must go make trade.

We play later.

- Up till ten years ago, nearly all the Eskimos

were like those three.

Magnificent.

- Asiak.

Look at white man.

- Find out what they want.

- This stupid woman expected him to be white as snow,

but he's a red man.

- Can one help you?

- One wishes to talk to white man.

- What about?

It came to pass one met Ittimargnek.

So one has brought these skins of no value.

- So?

- One hears white man likes fox skins.

- Maybe.

And what do you want to trade them for?

- Is it too much to hope for

to have gun?

(men laughing)

- If you want to try it,

there's a bullet in the barrel.

- Oh.

- [Man] Hey, look out!

Watch out for that gun.

- Hey, go outside if you want to shoot it.

(booming)

- This makes more noise than other.

- If you want bullets to go with it,

you'll have to bring back more skins.

- Oh, of course.

One will kill all the foxes in north.

You tell white man, he has made someone very happy.

If he wishes, he has my permission to laugh

with my beautiful wife.

- But white man doesn't laugh with women of the man.

And he doesn"t permit anyone to laugh in his house.

It is old fashion.

- Asiak,

white man does not permit laughing in this house.

- He must be a sad man.

This white red man.

- Here.

Try some of this.

Very good.

(rock and roll music)

- Music.

Only music.

Sit down.

7 Can't you see I care

J Can't you see I love you J

- Dance?

- Dance.

- Ouch.

(laughing)

(rock and roll music)

- Try some of this.

It doesn't taste good,

but it will make you warm and lively.

- My wife does not complain.

- You like it?

- No.

/4 Why do you have to be an iceberg

7 Honey, that ain't nice

J/ Because every time we start loving

7 You treat me just like ice J

(rock and roll music)

(laughing)

- Dance.

7 Oh baby

/4 Why can't you be like other girls

J4 Warm and tender and sweet JI

- It's hot.

- No!

The proprietor does not approve of naked people.

- Who's proprietor?

- White man.

My boss.

(rock and roll music)

(music powering down)

- All right, Undik that'll be all for tonight.

- White man,

why is it you can say when it should be dark

and it should be light?

- You behave yourself like the rest.

- It is best that you go to sleep.

(men snoring)

- Inuk.

Are you awake?

There is something wrong.

Something is wrong with the white man.

If his gun were any good,

why does he eat those evil smelling things

out of tin can?

Why does he never smile?

Why doesn"t he laugh of with the women of the men?

Why doesn't he know that the small igloo

is quicker to build

and easier to keep warmer than a house like this?

- What is all this talking?

Crazy woman making noise.

- Excuse a silly woman for talking

before so many wonderful men.

But she thinks that the white man is stupid or crazy.

If he is a crazy,

we should go away from here

as fast as possible.

Because the craziness is catching.

It seems advisable to leave this place

and never come back.

- We must come back.

We must bring back more skins for bullets.

- Then you can get your bullets.

A woman will pick a new husband.

There are more men than women.

(men laughing)

This worthless woman is looking for a new man.

One who can get along without the white man

and is a good provider.

But a woman is stupid and ugly,

but sometimes lucky at doing little things

to make a man feel comfortable.

- Somebody could do with a woman.

- You look skinny.

Are you a hunter?

- Such a good hunter, that ll not only have a gun,

but enough bullets to last a lifetime.

- Have you all your teeth?

- 1 have all my teeth except two.

(men laughing)

- Somebody will go with you if you hurry.

- You stay.

- You heard the woman, she's coming with me.

- The woman already has a man.

(men laughing)

Hey.

- Hurry, man.

It is necessary to build a new igloo.

- But this is not the other man.

This is your husband, Inuk.

He wants to come with you.

- One is as bad as the other.

You will get your sled ready.

This one will get your parka.

- You better take it.

- Give it away to somebody else.

Give it to him.

- Come along.

This old woman has not slept a week all summer.

(somber music)

- Good morning.

I am Father Angelie.

Are the young ones here?

- Inside.

- Ah huh.

The Lord be with you.

- No, just Asiak, Powtee and me.

We do not know Lord.

- A very short sleep ago you both offended him.

- We did not know.

One must apologize.

- If you will listen to my words and believe in me,

the Lord will come and stay with you

and will follow you in all your travels.

- So.

- We do not want another with us.

- Maybe he good hunter.

We will be pleased if your friend come with us.

- He must bring his own sled.

- Thank you.

- Will this Lord bring everything he needs?

- He'll bring you faith.

- Faith?

- Faith.

That wonderful light that drives back the shadows of sin.

- Oh, light. Light.

- It is good, Inuk.

If it is the kind in the trading post,

we could save it for the winter

and our eyes would not get tired anymore.

- Here is something you will like.

- I come to give, not receive.

- It is all marrow.

It is not much, but it is old and full of worms.

- You see?

- Another time.

Not right now.

- But is best we have.

Has this white man come to insult us?

- Maybe he's used to different food.

- Men don't live by bread alone.

- Maybe he want to laugh with a woman.

- Maybe.

He has the face of a man who likes to laugh.

Make yourself beautiful.

- I am here for one purpose only.

Listen to me, children.

You believe in the powers of the wind and the snow

and you are careful not to offend them.

I want you now to learn about our God.

Last night I realized that you had no awareness of sin.

And I would like to make you understand

the beauty of the Christian ideals

that forbid you to desire another man's woman.

That considers marriage sacred.

And a wife the most beautiful possession a man can have.

- Man, this hunter's worthless wife

has never laughed with another man.

She will now laugh with you.

- No.

- Please.

Do not be ashamed.

- No.

- This one will leave.

- No. No.

It's a sin.

It's evil.

Bad!

- You refuse our food.

Who are you to insult my wife?

You coward!

You bad!

You are rude.

You have no manners.

(foreboding music)

- Maybe you bumped too hard.

- His head was too soft.

One did not intend to Kill.

- Let us leave at once.

The ghost of the white man can bring too much trouble.

You must cut off a toe and a finger

and put them into his mouth to conciliate his ghost.

- Do you think one does not know how to behave?

- Hurry! Hurry!

(dogs barking)

- Yah!

(somber music)

Ho.

Asiak, someone forgot gun.

- No, Inuk, your clumsy woman gave it away.

- You gave it?

- If we must eat fox meat again for whole summer,

then go and get your gun back right now.

- But someone got rid of skins.

Now does not have gun.

It's a bad trade.

- It's a bargain.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Through long polar day and long polar night,

from one season to another,

Inuk and his family made their way back into the wilderness.

They have forgotten about the killing of the white man,

but other white men have not.

- Asiak!

- Asiak.

Get up old woman.

- Oh, just a useless old woman.

(somber music)

- Oh, mother.

- Let an old woman die in peace.

You and Inuk must go north to hunt.

- No mother, stay with us.

- You need much food for the baby inside you.

- [Narrator] The long winter night has come.

They stop and build an igloo to let Asiak's mother rest.

They treat her with kindness and affection.

But Powtee is now a useless old woman.

Her teeth are too warn to soften hides.

Her hands to stiff to sew garments.

And since the child Asiak as been baring

is now about to enter the world,

the time has come when Powtee must be left to die.

For her, the final journey is about to begin.

- You have given me extra days,

but the time has come for this one to die.

- She should not worry.

Inuk, say that to her

and say that a great hunter will always provide

and we will say when the time should be.

- Old woman, have you decided?

(somber music)

She has decided.

- [Narrator] Asiak knows her last attempt

to stop her mother from going will fail.

She can not change the hard laws of the people.

Laws dictated by the harshness of the land.

There is no place for too many useless mouths.

(dramatic music)

- Come close, little one.

An old woman has been thinking too much of herself

instead of her daughter.

- What do you want to say?

- Soon you're going to have a child

and for you, that is an unknown experience.

- [Asiak] An ignorant girl has seen many puppies born.

- With people, it is a little different.

So try to remember what an old mother tells you now.

First of all, it happens that the last moment

the child is afraid to come out.

After it has stepped into the world,

it still clings to you,

unlike the puppies you've seen that are born free.

So you must cut it from you with whatever you have at hand.

Or with your teeth, but cut it free immediately.

Otherwise it will die and you with it.

- How wise you are.

- Now listen carefully.

As soon as a child is born,

look to see if it's a boy or a girl.

If it's a boy you, you must lick it clean with your tongue

and then rub it with blubber.

But if it's a girl, you must put her on to the ice

and fill her mouth with snow at once.

- Why?

- To raise a useless girl,

you may delay the arrival of a boy.

If is indispensable that you raise a male at once

in the family.

For it is he that will bring the food

when you and your husband grow old.

Which happens very, very quickly.

Once you have a boy, you may have a girl too,

but now you must put her out onto the ice

and at once or you'll get very fond of her.

Is that all clear to you, little one?

- Almost, old mother.

- Somebody is glad it is.

(somber music)

- Hey!

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] She waits for the shape

that soon must come for her.

And she thinks of the joy of Inuk.

The day he will meet the great bear, face to face,

on the vast white sea.

She knows the future because she knows the past.

And her knowledge of life allows her to understand.

She accepts, without bitterness,

nature's eternal tragedy.

That the flesh must perish

so that the flesh may live.

She must die so that the bear may live.

For the day Inuk will slay it to feed Asiak and her child.

And so, she will return to them.

(dramatic music)

(groaning)

(dogs barking)

- A foolish woman wants some meat.

- So here.

- Not that.

Some leg of muskox is desired.

- Muskox is a long hunt.

Besides, someone is sleepy.

- It happens that a capricious woman wants some.

- Muskox is not to be found at this time.

- A great hunter could find one.

- Capricious woman

makes a man do the impossible.

(dogs barking)

(ominous music)

(groaning)

(gasping)

(somber music)

(groaning)

(moaning)

(screaming)

(baby crying)

(dramatic music)

(baby cooing)

- It came to pass,

a woman brought forth a child.

- How so?

- Isn't he beautiful?

- Someone has seen bear cubs that were better looking.

- He will improve as he grows,

but he has everything he needs.

Even a name.

His name is Pawpeek.

- Truly?

- Truly.

- How do you know his name is Pawpeek?

- Because a useless woman likes that name.

(baby cooing)

- Pawpeek.

Pawpeek.

(laughing)

Pawpeek. Pawpeek.

Pawpeek.

(baby crying)

Look, he has toes.

His nose.

He has no teeth.

You must have broken some taboo.

- Not to my knowledge.

- Did you eat land animals together with sea animals?

- Of course not.

- Did you white carabao or seal out of season?

- No. No.

- You must have done something wrong?

- How about you breaking some taboos?

- Me?

- Think, think hard!

Perhaps the ghost of the white man?

(foreboding music)

- Maybe.

Is it possible this stupid woman

doesn't know all about babies?

- A mother would have told her.

- Something must be done.

- As he grows bigger, a silly mother could chew his food.

- When you die, men will mock him.

Women scorn him all his life.

He must be put out on the ice.

Now.

Shall a father do it alone?

- No.

No.

It will be better if an ignorant mother who loves her child

asks for help from the powers of the wind and snow.

- There he is.

- Alone?

There should be three of them.

- [Man] I can make out at least two.

Can we land on this stuff?

- [Pilot] It's soft but it should be all right.

(dogs barking)

(yelling)

(dogs barking)

- Are you Inuk?

- I am Ittimargnek.

And this is my worthless wife, Hiko.

- We're looking for an Eskimo called Inuk.

He's traveling this way with his woman and her mother.

You seen them?

- Once.

More than a season ago.

- Much more than a season ago.

- My wife will make you some tea.

Our igloo is just nearby.

- Thanks.

We'd better get going.

- Wrong man?

- Yeah.

- Well we got trouble.

- How long will it take you to fix?

- I've radioed base.

You can forget about Eskimos for this year.

- What do you mean?

- By the time this if fixed, the polar night will be here.

And next year don't come and ask me to fly.

This is a job for sleds and dogs.

Those Eskimos live near here?

- Yeah.

Tea?

They offered us tea.

- Take it.

(uplifting music)

- Pawpeek, look.

Look, a fawn.

Asiak, come see.

Where you look?

Out there.

Asiak, how many you think?

- Many.

- Pawpeek!

Pawpeek!

Today you become a great hunter.

- There are so many of them.

Do you think they will stampede?

- Don't worry, you will be safe here.

Pawpeek, you stay.

(uplifting music)

- Inuk.

- Huh?

Oh.

Don't let him wander.

You want to know too much too soon.

- Pawpeek, you can play here.

(snorting)

- Skimo.

Inuk?

- Oh, white men.

You are so far north.

You are lost?

- We came all the way just to see you.

- Oh, truly.

- Right.

- My igloo is not far away.

We have some tea and talk.

Where is your sled?

- You killed a white man, Inuk.

- Of course.

Many seasons ago, yes.

- We've been looking for you many seasons.

- Why?

- To take you with us to be punished.

- Punished?

But someone was right and he was wrong.

- Anyone who kills a man is given a fair trial,

after which he's hung from a tree by his neck

until he dies.

- Dies?

Oh.

(laughing)

One can see you are joking.

If you were going to kill me, you would do it now.

Why take me on long tiresome journey?

- That is the law.

- But my father's laws have not been broken.

- Get up.

(dramatic music)

You got a knife here?

- Of course.

But someone needs that for hunting.

- Come on, get going.

Come on!

- One's wife is waiting.

She will worry.

- Only until another man shows up.

Mush!

Yah!

Yah!

Yah!

(intense music)

In there.

Come on. Inside.

Get some rest.

Here.

You'll be safer with this.

Keep still.

(groaning)

- Okay! Okay!

Try that once more

and I'll put a bullet down your throat.

(somber music)

(yelling)

(dogs whimpering)

- Come on!

- It is best to stop until the storm is over.

We are on the sea.

The wind can cause the ice to open.

- Get!

- Let this one drive, who knows the ice.

- He got us here.

(wind rushing)

The ice is gone!

Watch it! Watch it!

(dogs whimpering)

- Inuk, come and help me!

- He's a dead man.

Do not be foolish.

Do not touch the water.

(dogs barking)

- Help me.

His clothes are frozen.

(wind howling)

- The bears will enjoy your friend.

Instead of foolishly saving your friend,

you should have saved the food and your guns.

(dogs whimpering)

- We have six dogs and a knife.

We"ll keep going on foot and eat the dogs if we have to.

On your feet.

Come on.

We're going.

- My igloo's closer than your hanging place.

This one is going his own way.

- Inuk, stop.

You're my prisoner.

- You are that strong?

Your hands are frozen.

(wind rushing)

(dog barking)

Take off your gloves.

Can't you hear? Take off your gloves.

(dog crying)

(yelling)

- It hurts.

- Good! Means life is coming back.

Only death is painless.

You can't stand pain?

(somber music)

- [Narrator] To the white man, arctic ice and snow

are pitiless enemies.

But to the Eskimo, they can be useful friends.

The skin of an animal dipped in icy water and frozen hard

will make a satisfactory sled.

- Whoa.

One remembers this place.

Man.

This one thinks food is nearby.

Don't sleep.

You sleep,

dogs will eat sled.

Or you.

(dogs barking)

(growling)

(barking)

(yelling)

- Inuk!

(growling)

Get them off!

Get them off!

- Man.

Don't get scared, man.

- Look.

Now we'll never get back.

(dogs barking)

- Someone has traveled without dogs before.

Come.

We get back.

- Inuk.

If we get back,

I'm going to have to arrest you.

- You would have me punished?

- It's my duty.

- Not even a white man would punish

one who saved his life.

- You killed a man.

- It was not meant to Kill.

- It makes no difference.

You come back with me, I'll arrest you.

That is how it is.

That's our law.

(dramatic music)

- Don't go sleep.

Man, wake up.

Man!

Man, you sleep you die.

(uplifting music)

- Inuk.

You have been away for many sleeps.

- Asiak.

Pawpeek.

Pawpeek.

Pawpeek.

- Food has been scarce.

Did you make a good catch?

- Miserable catch.

Pawpeek.

This man and one other

took me away to be killed.

- Why?

- For what happened to white man long ago.

- Two men took you?

- They had guns.

(laughing)

Other man foolishly got himself dead.

(laughing)

This man's not bad.

- A stupid woman think it would be better

if he were dead too.

(birds crowing)

(somber music)

- Good and old, huh?

- You're not like the missionary.

- Perhaps the missionary never met an Eskimo like you.

- We thought we would never want to see another white man.

- Pawpeek, not too close!

Dogs are ready.

- Soamlll.

- Inuk.

- Huh?

- You must not forget your charms.

- Oh.

(dogs barking)

- Pawpeek.

Pawpeek.

Put that on sled.

- Inuk, I wanna get this clear.

I wanna be sure we understand each other.

If you come back with me,

you'll be under arrest.

You're my prisoner.

- Surely that is forgotten.

- 1 have not forgotten.

And the men who sent me have not forgotten

and they're gonna look for you until they find you.

- But the men who remember this hunter,

maybe they're dead.

- They have written your name in a book.

- Book?

- The men will die. The book will remain.

- What is book?

- A book is words.

The words say, "Inuk is a murderer.”

- No, Inuk is not a murderer! (Inuk shushing)

- Let this man explain.

- Explain? How can you explain?

What can you say?

- The man was rude.

He insulted my home.

He refused our oldest meat.

- But most white men are not fond of old meat.

- But the worms were fresh.

When someone proposed to him the highest courtesy,

to laugh with Asiak,

he refused!

- Let a woman explain.

A woman combed her hair.

Grease her face with blubber

and clean herself to be polite.

- A husband was ready to leave.

What does the man do?

He starts to run.

So someone grabbed him by the shoulder

to bang his head against the wall.

Not to Kkill.

Just to crack his head a little.

Unfortunately, it cracked a lot.

- When someone bumps Inuk's head against a wall,

the wall falls apart, not his head.

- It's true.

- Inuk, listen.

No judge in the world will understand

you offering another man your wife.

- But it is our custom.

We must be polite.

White men don't borrow other men's wives?

- Nevermind that.

You don't lend your wife as if she were a sled.

(laughing)

- Someone would rather lend his wife than his sled.

You lend your sled, it comes back cracked.

You lend your knife, it comes back dull.

You lend your dogs, they come back tired and crawling.

If you love your wife, no matter how often you lend her,

she always comes back like new.

Man?

Man?

You don't understand?

- I understand.

- Good.

- But the other men live by the book

and there you are a murderer.

- We must make them understand.

Otherwise, Pawpeek, Asiak and me,

we can not go into other men's igloos.

That is our law.

We change the book, huh?

Asiak, you bring the food.

(dogs barking)

- Asiak,

they'll never understand.

- When you come to a strange land,

you should bring your wives and not your laws.

(somber music)

(faint rock and roll music)

- Ho.

- Huh?

- Goodbye.

- We don't go to trading post?

- 1 go.

You don't.

- Why?

- Inuk, we couldn't change a thing.

You have to go back.

You mustn't be seen here by anybody.

- But, man.

- Until we go in there, ll have full authority.

I can let you go.

All ll do is fill in a form, sign a report,

and Inuk doesn"t exist anymore.

Inuk is dead.

- But there is only one Inuk.

Inuk is here.

He has no wish to be dead.

- They will have to punish you

because the rules are stronger than they are.

The rules have grown stronger than those who made them.

Go back.

- Man!

You and me, we make them understand.

- All right.

- I'll explain in a different way.

I don't want you with me.

I'm sick of you.

Il wouldn't have Asiak's laughter if it was offered.

Now when we get to the trading post,

I'll put a bullet in your big stomach.

I'll feed Asiak and that misfit, Pawpeek, to the bear.

Because I hate bear.

I don't want you with me!

(rock and roll music)

- Inuk.

- Asiak, what did we do to him?

- White men.

- Oh, they are truly difficult to understand.

- They're as bad as the bear.

- Worse.

(laughing)

Much worse.

- Now we go back.

- We go back.

(dramatic music)

Ho!

(dogs barking)

(dramatic music)