Saw the Victoria Film Fest‘s Before Tomorrow last night. This is Igloolik Isuma‘s third film, after Atanarjuat and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (if this blog had archives, there may be reviews of those).

Isuma’s two other films have supernatural components and a cast of characters interacting in a social context. I don’t have the cultural cues to understand when something supernatural is going on and I don’t know the social rules followed by polite Inuit society. As a result, I find the other films more alien than the cinema of any other culture.

Before Tomorrow has no supernaturals and focuses on the relationship between two individuals, so in that way it is more comprehensible to me. It still shares the weird cinematography and editing that distinguish it from films directed by non-Inuits. And as other-worldly as Isuma’s other films are, they still follow story archetypes – I didn’t find Before Tomorrow‘s plot compelling.

I think Before Tomorrow is worth watching for its enactment of Inuit culture. I like movies that include a plot point of “so I met some white dudes the other day…” But Isuma’s other films are significantly better.