Wonderful character development!

Absolutely amazing

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I came across this movie just by accident on Sundance Channel. I quickly read the synopsis and decided to give it a chance. Boy, was I pleased. This kind of film is so beautiful in so many ways. It immediately introduces us viewers to a place and to characters we might never come across in life and then asks us to figure out ways to relate on basic human levels to them. Especially because of the terseness of the main character, Tivli, I was made to feel his feelings through his eyes and gestures and the actor certainly did a great job conveying what he did.I was very impressed by the story, the direction, the filming and the acting. Only one thing bothered me - but it was necessary for the film to progress... that is that it did not seem to occur to the doctors and nurses to find someone to act as a translator for Tivli right away. Clearly, the people on the hospital ship had such abilities, so others must have had them too. Perhaps this can be explained away, but I cannot imagine a language barrier such as this being ignored for as long as it was in the story. Otherwise, as I say, great film!

Seldom seen film that I caught on either IFC or Sundance channel. Story takes place in the 50's and is about an Inuit Canadian that must leave his family in the frozen north where he lives to receive extensive treatment for tuberculosis. Core of the film shows how the Inuit man struggles with his health, his inability to communicate, immersion into a completely foreign environment, and long term separation from the family for which he is the sole provider for. This film is surprisingly powerful and really creates a lot of strong emotions in the viewer. Slow paced but excellent nonetheless. Beautiful landscapes, great acting, interesting characters, and a compelling story make this movie a hidden gem.More people need to see this!

Can the body get well if the spirit is under attack? Here is a movie about the interaction between body and mind, based in the remote Baffin Island region of the Arctic.In a tale of Fifties missionary zeal, we have French Canadians forcing an Inuit man with potentially deadly TB to go far away to "civilization" to heal -- leaving his family behind, perhaps to die of starvation."Who will hunt for them?" Tiivii asks, but no one tries to understand or help. And there is no way he can heal with this question unresolved."Ce qu'il faut pour vivre" gives us an Inuit's eye view of the odd world into which Tiivii is forced -- a world of trees, lawns, buildings permanently embedded in the earth, barbers, toilets, and spaghetti. He fantasizes about the animals he would like to kill, and tries passive forms of suicide more than once.It's only when a young fellow Inuit enters the sanatorium that Tiivii has a chance to get better. Their shared language and culture is the active ingredient in Tiivii's recovery.This excellent film takes what would seem to be a logical turn near its conclusion, and then it ends sadly. One can't help but feel that Tiivii has somehow been co-opted despite his best efforts. The film leaves a very strong and somewhat troubling impression.

Review: The Necessities of Life/Ce qu'il faut pour vivre 9*/10It's a tale of hopelessness, terror, confusion and desperation, and Ungalaaq makes you feel all of that. The Necessities of Life has done well on the festival circuit and was Canada's entry for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar this year, although it didn't make the final cut to be in the running Sunday. Language barriers are no problem with sub-titles, but even without them I think the film would still work just in how Ungalaaq manages to get so much across with expression and pitch. Éveline Gélinas as a sympathetic nurse is also very good, as the relationship between her and Tivii shows that common language is not an impediment to either friendship or understanding. I also liked Denis Bernard in a small role as a sympathetic priest that tries to help Tivii adapt an orphaned Inuit that's also a patient in the hospice; some genuine laughs are mined out of their visit to the monsignor. This proves that things aren't all black and white in the story. The actions of the government are not driven by I think some imperialist mentality, but by the notion that they were genuinely doing all right by the Inuit by taking them far from home and treating them in spite of everything. Their self-deluded altruism may have blinded them to certain facts on the ground, but Necessities isn't a story about the right-or-wrong of government policy. It's the story of one man's struggle to get some semblance of control of his situation, and whether or not he can maintain a sense of self so far from home. It's a simply powerful story that works its magic in small and unexpected ways.At times filled with humor and warmth and at others feeling compounded by isolation and a hint of claustrophobia, Necessities of Life reaches out from the past and across cultures to remind us how fragile we are in a number of equally important ways. Is one's health worth a trip hundreds of miles away from home and being thrown into the deep end of some strange culture? It's a tough question, and while I think I know my answer, it's up to the audience to make up there own minds as to whether Tivii's journey made him the worse for ware, or worn for the better In examining what constitutes the necessities of life, Pilon presents a variety of options – communication, belonging, acceptance and family. But chief among them is dignity. Seen at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.