Romantic unions are often discussed in relation to destiny. There are countless stories that attribute fate as the invisible rope that binds those in love, but what role does free will, history, cultural and gender play? In Zacharias Kunuk’s latest film Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband), it will take everything from personal strength to a battle between supernatural forces to keep a young couple together.
The road map of Sapa (Haiden Angutimarik) and Kaujak (Theresia Kappianaq) romance was drawn by their parents since they were babies. Sapa would become a great hunter and provider, and Kaujak would be his beautiful wife who tended to the various duties around the home. Growing up together in their small Inuit village, the seemingly pre-destined pair’s love blossomed to the point where they were affectionally referring to each other as “future wife” and “future husband” by the time they were in their teens.
Unfortunately, the happy couple’s dreams for the future get a cold dose of reality when Kaujak’s father unexpected dies. The death not only comes as a shock due to its mysterious nature, but it also leaves Kaujak and her mother, Nujatut (Leah Panimera), in a rather vulnerable place. Living in an era where women had little control over their future, the grieving mother and daughter are instinctively aware of the enormity of their loss.
It does not take long for the women’s fears to come to fruition with the emergence of a canoe off in the distance as Sapa is away on a hunt.
Similarly to the monstrous troll who snatches the young girl at the opening Kunuk’s film, thus establishing linking the between the past and supernatural that flows throughout the film, the presence of Makpa (Mark Taqqaugaq), immediately sets off alarm bells in the audience’s mind. Accurately nicknamed “Wifeless Buddy,” his seemingly casual visit to the village clearly has ulterior motives.
Marrying Njuatut, and relocating her and her daughter to his camp, Makpa decides that Kaujak will be betrothed to one of the young men in his village. The declaration sets off a series of competitions between the males to see who is most worthy of her hand. As time runs out before a suitor is picked, Kaujak defiantly holds out hope that her true love Sapa will free her from a life she never wanted.
A master at weaving traditional Inuit lore together with rich tales of people dealing with their own personal journey’s, Kunuk’s latest film offers a unique twist on a conventional love story. While there have many films about young lovers separated by circumstance, Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)’s approach is compelling for several reasons. By placing the female characters at the forefront of the narrative, Kunuk hits home not only the lack of choice not afforded to young women like Kaujak, but also the inner strength that they display despite it.
The blinding light of this type of inner power also shines brightly in Sapa’s grandmother and the ancestral spirit who actively takes on the evil forces trying to keep the young man from his true love. The fact that it is a woman who pushes Sapa to fight for Kaujak is not lost on the audience.
Aside from making the women the most compelling characters, Kunuk’s film moves at a brisk place thanks to its genre bending approach.
Skillfully blending elements of supernatural mysticism, horror, and Inuit lore together, Kunuk crafts a film that feels invigorating despite its familiar narrative trappings. While one wishes the film delved further into the presence of the troll, whose creature design is wonderfully grotesque, its head scratching decisions do not hinder the overall impact of the film. Another stirring work by Kunuk, Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) is engaging look at the forces that keep the flame of love burning when the wind of distance threatens to blow it out.
