The Necessities of Life

2008

1h 32m

Drama

List

60%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

85%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

A dedicated nurse keeps an Inuit hunter alive in a hospital intended for white people.

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Dan Kois

Washington Post

A well-acted but dreary drama of clashing cultures.

Jun 30, 2010

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

It's a quiet but deeply moving story that arrives at a beautiful affirmation of what we all share as humankind.

Oct 14, 2020

Full Review

Brian D. Johnson

Maclean's Magazine

The story, scripted by Bernard mond, is so spare, and its world is so bleak, that Ungalaaq's performance seems to take place in a void.

Jan 2, 2018

Full Review

Dominic Corry

Flicks (AU, NZ, UK)

This gorgeous and affecting drama makes a strong case for the simple restorative power of communication.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 15, 2010

Full Review

Nora Lee Mandel

Film-Forward.com

Combines poignancy with realism for a touching yet not overly sentimental exploration of an Inuit man and boy's deep need for family and tradition in a Quebec TB ward.

Rated: 8/10

Dec 2, 2009

Full Review

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Serge L

Histoire vraisemblable du traitement d'un Inuk tuberculeux au Québec dans les années 50. Très beau, assez réaliste. Une histoire pleine de coeur qui se déroule lentement. Un délice à voir.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/02/17

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautiful photography. A heart-rending story which will resonate with everyone who has had contact with indigenous contact experiences.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fascinating, heartbreaking tale spun like an Inuit legend.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I'm not one to like art house films much, but this is a really beautiful, emotional one with outstanding acting. I wanted to get to bed as it was 3am, but had to watch this until the end!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The necessities of life was added to Netflix Canada last week so I was happily surprised as this was #1 on my cinemail queue, meaning I could get it for free instead of wasting one of my 2 mailed DVDs. I digress, this is a film about how an Eskimo is abruptly taken from his family to recuperate from TB in a Quebec City hospital where he doesnt speak any French and finds himself extremely lonely. Its an unusual topic, all things considered but an interesting story nonetheless and it deals with the issues very well. I enjoyed the acting of Natar Ungalaaq very much, he has an expressive face and you cannot help but warm to him, he brings a lot of warmth and character to the role of TiiVii. The ending is incredibly and unnecessarily sad, I got annoyed at that because the film would have been much better for a happy ending I think. The vogue these days is to not do a happy ending but I for one think that the happy ending should make a comeback. Favourite scene : TiiVii and the preist convince the elder to allow him to adopt Kaki by lying about his Catholic credentials.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Classique, mais intÃ©ressant. Les thÃ¨mes sont abordÃ©s avec justesse, et l'acteur inuit est Ã©patant.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Benoît Pilon

Director

Natar Ungalaaq

Tiivii

Guy Thauvette

Actor

Louise Marleau

Actor

Éveline Gélinas

Carole

Paul-André Brasseur

Kaki

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Synopsis

A dedicated nurse keeps an Inuit hunter alive in a hospital intended for white people.

Director: Benoît Pilon
Screenwriter: Bernard Émond
Production Co: Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC), Société de Développement des Entreprises Culturelles (SODEC), Radio Canada Télévision, Téléfilm Canada, Super Ecran, Association Coopérative des Productions Audio-Visuelles, Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit, Astral Media
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 13, 2020
Runtime: 1h 32m

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