By Lee Pfeiffer
The Warner Archive has re-issued a special DVD edition of director Philip Kaufman's The White Dawn as a burn-to-order title. The previous version had been released by Paramount Home Video in 2004 to commemorate the film's 30th anniversary. Fortunately, this reissue carries over the special bonus features from that release. The movie was not well received by either critics or the public at the time of its initial release and vanished rather quickly. Although the production boasts three well-respected actors in the lead roles, none of them were considered "box office" and Kaufman himself had only one modestly received movie to his credit (The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid). It is appropriate that The White Dawn has been re-examined in recent years. This isn't some undervalued classic, but it is an interesting film with many merits. The story is based on a novel by James Houston that, in turn, was inspired by true events. The film opens in 1896 with the three leading men seen as crew members of a whaling ship that is trolling the ice-packed waters off of remote Baffin Island in Canada, just below the Arctic Circle. They manage to harpoon a whale from their long boat but in their relentless pursuit of the creature, they end up being shipwrecked on an ice flow and given up for dead by their fellow crew members. They are saved from certain death by Inuit (Eskimo) people who take them to their village and nurse them back to health. With no immediate hope of returning to their own world, the three men- Billy (Warren Oates), Daggett (Timothy Bottoms) and Portagee (Lou Gossett)- acclimate themselves as best they can in the igloo village they must now call home. The transition is not an easy one. The language barrier presents the most obvious obstacle but there is also the harsh landscape that requires a constant battle to survive. The people are perpetually threatened by severe weather, dangerous polar bears and starvation. They lead a nomadic lifestyle, having to relocate every time the food supply becomes meager. Despite these obstacles, over the course of a one year period, the three men adjust to life among the Inuit, who treat them warmly and respectfully. Before long, they are accepted as "family" by their saviors, who are amused by the cultural differences the men bring to the village. The Inuit elders follow tradition and willingly share their wives as sex partners for the men. To Kaufman's credit, these scenes are handled with a playful innocence and are never distasteful. With sex just about the only enjoyable past time in this frozen wasteland, the Inuit regard it with a laissez faire attitude- much to the delight of their "guests". Although Daggett and Portagee are respectful of their hosts and acclimate themselves to the environment, Billy is a hot-tempered, self-centered man who mocks the Inuit behind their backs and regards them as savages. Eager to make a mad gamble to find another whaling ship that will rescue them, he manages to exert influence over his two companions and thus sets in motion a series of events that leads to the film's tragic conclusion. Billy's attempts to con his hosts at games of chance in order to make claim to their women is the first indication that the situation is going awry. The Inuit prove not to be the gullible, childlike people Billy thinks they are. They are quite aware of attempts to manipulate them. Billy also orchestrates the trio's ill-fated attempt to steal precious food and a boat in order to flee to "civilization". The men fail spectacularly and are faced with the humiliation of having to be rescued once again by the very people whose trust they have abused. However, it is the introduction of Billy's home-made liquor to these innocent people that ultimately leads to the final tragedy.
It's unclear to what degree the incidents portrayed on film reflect what happened in real life. The history has been passed down among the Inuit, so one must assume there has been some alteration or embellishment of the facts, as will inevitably happen over time with any oral history. What impresses most about the film is Michael Chapman's stark cinematography in this frozen wasteland. You literally wonder how any living creature can survive in such an environment, let alone thrive. On the DVD, Kaufman, who provides an audio commentary as well as a filmed introduction, relates the seemingly impossible obstacles that had to be overcome in order to shoot the film. Environmental factors were only part of the challenge. He also had to coach his cast of Inuit people, none of whom had probably ever seen a movie before, let alone acted. In that regard, he pulls off what may be the film's signature achievement, because these non-professional thespians turn in remarkably convincing performances. Henry Mancini provides a wonderful score (one of his personal favorites) that was inspired by an impromptu song that was created by an Inuit woman.
The problem with the film from a dramatic standpoint is that it is never as emotionally moving as it should be. We certainly cringe when we see the rescued whaler's abuse of their savior's hospitality but we never learn anything about their backgrounds and they remain superficial protagonists. With Daggett and Portagee clearly level-headed, decent men, it is never theorized why they continue to follow the bull-headed Billy's advice, even when it would seem to inevitably lead to disaster. The performances of Oates, Bottoms and Gossett- fine actors all- never rise above the level of being merely competent, primarily because, at heart, this is really the story of the Inuit people and how these "aliens" have abused their trust and generosity.
The DVD contains an excellent, restored transfer of the feature film, a brief filmed introduction by Philip Kaufman as well as his commentary track and a historical look at life among the Inuit people. Kaufman also appears in Welcoming the Dawn, an interesting featurette in which he largely focuses on the technical and logistical problems of bringing the story to the screen. He is particularly determined to stress that the slaying of a polar bear in one of the film's most harrowing sequences, did not result in injury to the animal, as incredible as that may seem after viewing the scene. Whatever you think of the end result, after hearing about these obstacles, you'll have to admire the sheer grit and determination of Kaufman and his crew for working amid some of the harshest conditions on the planet. As director, Kaufman has made a number of fine, off-beat films that don't fit easily into any one mold. The White Dawn is certainly one of them. It's a flawed film, to be sure, but one that does have elements that will haunt you long after you've seen it.
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