With the aim of
providing immediate, sincere testimony of the existence of a human group,
Flaherty spent much time together with the clan portrayed in Nanook - as he would do in all the
preparatory phases for his later films. This approach allowed the director to
transform reality into a cinematographic style, in which images are signs of
real objects, testimony to a world that exists; there are no visual tricks, no
invented landscapes or transformed actors; everything is a sign of tangible
existence. Nanook is the real name of a man that lives in the polar north. He
is strong and healthy, and fights for his survival together with his group. The
lean narrative - which would become a Flaherty trademark, concentrates on
Nanook and his daily life.The film is void of
all references to folklore; the protagonist's existence is typical of his
people. Yet in recording the lives of these people, Flaherty sets himself apart
from the standard film-reports of the period, not only for the depth of his
style, but mainly for his continuous selection of events and elements which
characterize the entire human group. True, at times the captions reveal a
certain apprehension still badgering the honest reporter, which is
understandable if we remember it was Flaherty's first film.The film premiered at
the Capitol cinema in New York, in late 1922. Audience reaction was decidedly
neutral, while several critics expressed a negative judgement - only to rethink
their position a few weeks later. Nanook was acclaimed throughout Europe; it
ran for six months in London, and was also a hit in Paris, Rome and Berlin.