Eskimo (1933)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Eskimo |
| Original title | Eskimo |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language |
English , Iñupiatun |
| Publishing year | 1933 |
| length | 108 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | WS Van Dyke |
| script | John Lee Mahin |
| production |
Hunt Stromberg W.S. Van Dyke Irving Thalberg |
| music | William ax |
| camera |
Clyde De Vinna George Gordon Nogle Josia Roberts Leonard Smith |
| cut | Conrad A. Annoying |
| occupation | |
| |
Eskimo is an American drama from 1933. The screenplay is based on the novel of the same name by the Danish polar explorer and writer Peter Freuchen , who also appears in the film.
action
The Eskimo Mala is the best hunter in his village. He hears about the white men's ships and the weapons that can be exchanged for furs. Mala's wife Aba convinces her husband to travel to the ships with the family. They undertake a 300-kilometer journey through the frozen tundra until they arrive in the port town of Tjaranak. Mala trades with the captain of one of the ships and gets a rifle for his furs. The captain can seduce Aba with the help of alcohol and useless gifts.
The next day the enraged Mala tells the captain to leave his wife alone while he goes whaling with his men. But the captain has Aba brought to him against her will. She is made compliant with alcohol and raped by the captain. The next morning, the still drunk Aba stumbles and collapses in the snow. Due to her fur clothing, a sailor mistook her for an animal and shot her. Mala returns from the hunt. He is told that his wife is sleeping, but he soon learns the truth. He kills the captain with a harpoon. With his children he makes his way back to his village.
Back in the village, Mala mourns his wife, but still organizes a caribou hunt. When Mala has visions of the dead captain, he talks about it to one of the tribal elders. The old man advises him to ask the ghosts for a new name so that the captain can no longer haunt him. Mala goes to a sacred mountain and prays on the top. A bird flying by inspires him to adopt the name Kripik. Mala notices that the second wife of one of the hunters, Iva, followed him. With his new identity, Mala / Kripik begins to take an interest in the woman who has always loved him. The other hunter offers him Iva, plus his first wife.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have now sent officers to Tjaranak to learn of the captain's murder. Two Mounties, Balk and Hunt, go in search of Mala, but they get into trouble. Mala finds the two half frozen and takes them to his igloo. The two Mounties soon recover and question Mala. With the help of their Eskimo guide, they identify Mala as the captain's murderer. The Mounties Mala are grateful for the rescue. But they want to take him to the police station. They get Mala to leave his family to get food for the people in Tjaranak. While Mala is on the hunt, Inspector White arrives and demands that Mala be captured. Mala, who knows that his family is hungry at home, is chained to his bed by the Mounties. But Mala is able to free himself, but suffers injuries to his hand. He tries to reach his village with the dog sled.
The Mounties take up the chase. You are sure to have an advantage as Mala is injured. But Mala is saved by his eldest son. In order not to fall into the hands of the white men again, he wants to leave his tribe. However, Iva, who loves him, follows him. Mala and Iva reach an ice floe as the Mounties approach. You can't stop Mala without shooting him. You choose to let Mala escape.
background
The MGM production was shot near the Eskimo village of Teller in Alaska . The budget was around $ 950,000.
The US premiere took place on November 14, 1933. In Germany, on June 10, 1993, the former television station Eins Plus broadcast an original version with German subtitles.
Leading actor Ray Mala had lived in Los Angeles for two years. The film is his debut, followed by over 20 other film appearances as an Eskimo or native of South Sea islands. Lotus Long, only mentioned as Lotus in this film, also made its debut here. In her further career she also played mainly Asian characters.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films described Eskimo as a “quasi-documentary film about the everyday life of Eskimos”, which was made “almost without exception with amateur actors [...] in front of the impressive natural scenery of the Arctic”. The film magazine Cinema came to the conclusion: “WS Van Dyke shot 16 months in the Arctic. Result: realism. "
Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times described the film as "exciting and often dark melodrama". Even if the film drags on, interest in the various events is cleverly kept awake. Gerald Peary of the Boston Phoenix thinks the film is fascinating work. Many details such as the walrus hunt and the igloo were already shown in the documentary Nanuk the Eskimo by Robert Flaherty (1922), but Van Dyke went one step further and developed a story.
Awards
In 1935 the film was awarded an Oscar in the Best Editing category. This makes it the first film to ever win an Oscar in this category.
Web links
- Eskimo in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. imdb.com
- ↑ Eskimo. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. cinema.de
- ^ Mordaunt Hall : Eskimo (1933) . In: The New York Times , November 15, 1933.
- ↑ Gerald Peary: Eskimo ( Memento of the original from April 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Boston Phoenix , January 24-31, 2002.
