Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)

Celebrated Inuk director Zacharias Kunuk returns to the Festival with his latest offering, a captivating, epic, historical drama about an arranged marriage, set 4,000 years ago. Seamlessly blending the supernatural with verité realism, Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) follows a boy, Sapa (Haiden Angutimarik), and a girl, Kaujak (Theresia Kappianaq), whose union in marriage is promised by their families from birth.

In their village, time passes as they hunt and prepare food, eventually becoming known as “future husband” and “future wife.” Their peaceful existence, however, is soon to be disrupted. Vivid dreams foretell a battle, and an ominous troll-like creature lurks by the waterfront, attempting to pull someone from the village away.

Long-gone elements of Inuit culture, like arranged marriages, sit alongside enduring components like shamanism and drum dancing. Nicknames and namesakes are a large part of Uiksaringitara — there’s a “Wifeless Buddy” in the film, and Kaujuk calls her mother “Younger Sister” because it’s an inherited name — and the importance of naming continues in Inuit culture today.

With arresting imagery, his trademark humour, and a cast of mostly non-professional actors, Kunuk has again created a world that not only builds upon Inuit stories and legends to enthrall audiences but works to preserve these reimagined stories for generations to come. Born from oral traditions, and committed to authenticity, Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) is a unique feat of both cultural conservation and engrossing cinema.

KELLY BOUTSALIS