by MATTHEW HAYS

Zacharius Kunuk’s first feature film, Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner), made a huge impact on the international film scene when it debuted in 2001. It created a sensation at the Cannes Film Festival, where its strikingly unique style led many to suggest that Kunuk, along with his filmmaking partner Norman Cohn, were creating their own cinematic language.

The film was noteworthy for many reasons, among them that this was the first Inuit-authored feature to come out of Canada. Its distinct take on Inuit legend won it the Camera d’Or at Cannes and the Best Canadian Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Fans of the Kunuk-Cohn style won’t be disappointed with their follow-up, The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, said to be the first film about the collision of European explorers and Inuit natives told through the eyes of the Inuit. Set in 1922, the film begins by setting up the relationship between an elder shaman (played by Pakak Innuksuk) and his daughter (Leah Angutimarik). Their bond is a complicated one—Angutimarik has been widowed, but remains in the erotic and romantic clutches of her late husband, thus neglecting her current one. In what is arguably the film’s greatest bit of stylistic flourish, there are sex scenes in which Angutimarik engages with her late husband. They are bold and stunningly captured while also managing an emotional poignancy. No small feat.

Things really explode when a group of Danish explorers show up. Now, the elder shaman must explain in detail his traditional beliefs and customs to the explorers. The winds of change are felt even more sharply when they find a group of natives who have converted to Christianity shortly after the explorers appear.

Kunuk and Cohn are in a difficult position with their latest. On the one hand, they are going to be judged by the incredible critical success of their first film, undeniably a sensational debut. On the other, they need to avoid simply remaking the first film. By introducing the Danish explorers and delving into their impact on the Inuit, the team have made an effective choice. I can’t say I was quite as overwhelmed by Knud Rasmussen as I was by Atanarjuat, but it remains a distinctive film well worth seeing.

The Journals of Knud Rasmussen opens Friday, Sept. 29

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