Cine-concert on the movie Nanouk l'esquimau
A film written and directed by Robert Flaherty, original music by Christian Leroy
Les Grands Films Classiques, 50 min, France, 1995
With compositions by Christian Leroy, performed by himself on piano and Philippe Saucez on clarinet
In 1920, Robert J. Flaherty, a former explorer of Canada's Hudson Bay region for a mining company and now a filmmaker, wanted to make films about distant peoples. The filming of Nanouk l'Esquimau in 1920, for example, shows Inuit life with an accuracy and understanding devoid of any exoticism. When it was released in 1922, the film was a huge public success, inaugurating a new genre - the poetic documentary - and becoming emblematic of the 7th art.
In 1997, Christian Leroy composed the film's original score for piano and clarinet. Seduced by the symbiosis it creates with the images, distributor Les Grands Films Classiques decided to use it as the soundtrack for new prints of the film, in collaboration with the CNC.
Today, with hindsight, Nanouk l'Esquimau takes on a singular resonance: the film appears both as an ode to a nature still preserved, and as a cry of alarm: what remains of this life where man and nature are in perfect harmony? The cries of alarm for the planet are multiplying: isn't it said that this new decade will be crucial?
In this context, the hundred years of Nanouk l'Esquimau cannot be forgotten: beyond the moving poetry created by the music and images, the film reminds Man that nature is the foundation of his survival. It is an imperative...
Christian Leroy and Philippe Saucez take us on an unusual musical journey through the rich and diverse world of Nanouk l'Esquimau, in a language that is sincere and direct, yet sophisticated and refined, akin to chamber music. They take us from smiles to tears, from tenderness to wonder, and always through the heart.