The National Film Board of Canada
Now Available to Stream
Northlore is more about getting back to Nature than anything else. When Knowledge Keepers Gary Sidney Johnson, Elisabeth Pilon, Melissa Matheson, Michael Code, and Dennis Shorty are talking about what they have done to preserve the Yukon, it’s easy to understand why they want to do more to spread the word than just reconnecting to their roots. Some of them have native ancestry and others hail from other shores where having a special connection is important. Many cultures share this belief. For example, the Celts valued working with the land.
And how they reconnect varies. Whether the activity is recreational, it doesn’t matter. This land is home to many secret wonders. One simply has to explore to find them! While some of these individuals are survivalists, others are just everyday folks who’ve found a renewed connection with this land. It’s a rugged landscape full of geological wonders.
What’s more essential are the stories. They show these individuals recounting what happened, and the flashbacks are a mix of them talking over some animation. In order to take this documentary seriously, Northlore avoids delving into the hard supernatural. It’s suggested to how the land can help wayward souls.
In one tale, the lost hikers took advantage of “spirit orbs” or the headlights of a car from the nearby highway to find a way out. Even they are not sure who helped. In another tale, grandma had the choice of cultivating the herbs from the land or taking the ill child to a hospital. When that’s many miles away, the choice was obvious. Thankfully, the young woman survived. As much as I like to reveal which of the two women profiled was the ill one, that’s best to view for yourself.
Although there are no stories regarding the Northern Lights, maybe I wasn’t paying full attention. To predict when they happen isn’t a perfect science and when the filmmakers were recording, they were out to capture the vibrancy of how these keepers of knowledge love to tell their tales. While I love all the camera work done via drone to show how vast the wilderness is, to examine the twilight would’ve made this presentation even more special.
Northlore Excerpt
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