BEING CARIBOU (NATIONAL FILM BOARD, 2004)

By Rick Jackson

This documentary by writer/directors Leanne Allison and Diana Wilson captures the caribou in its most positive light. From the spring migration of the porcupine herd to the Arctic from Alaska and the Yukon, it provides a breathtaking and unforgettable journey which environmentalist Allison and wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer have recorded in a diary.

Allison is also the cinematographer and she gives you many images of the caribou, especially the shots against the night sky where they appear to be walking in a long line in the snow.

As their journey begins, they are not sure how many they will see. Through binoculars and aerial footage we get to see them running, climbing up a mountain and cresting up and down hills. When they finally reach a herd, they feel they are part of something bigger. Some of the caribou run ahead to graze and eat.

The sad part to the entire story is the United States government's oil development in an area not far away which threatens the survival of the caribou. After bringing it up, Allison and Wilson fail to discuss it any further.

The journey which they come to realize as a historical event because they are lucky in watching them move around, Allison and Heuer wonder howlong they will continue because they are running out of supplies by Day 16.

A plane eventually drops off more supplies but they experience another hurdle--bears who prevent them from continuing and they are forced to stay in their tent.

At this point in this documentary, one wishes there had been more dialogue or sub-titles to articulate the journey better for they know better than us the advantages and disadvantages they faced. For us watching we can only depend on their accuracy in presenting to us their experience.

What is most interesting is the reason for the caribou's flight to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge where, after travelling for weeks the pregnant cows arrive at the calving grounds. The narrow strip of coastal plain provides a type of grass to help them produce high quality milk. It also gives them freedom from predators for they prove the old adage of safety in numbers.

Through binoculars we get to see the birth of a calf still shiny and wet, the umbilical cord still attached. Allison and Heuer do not get any closer for this is sacred ground.

Despite them telling us they shouldn't be there, their journey allows us to see the life of a soon-to-be extinct animal threatened by the U.S. government.

With the end of the calving season in June, there is the post calving aggregation a month later. It is here the filmmakers lose track of the caribou and try to catch up.

The story quickly loses its continuity when it is broken up by an implausible subplot where the two find themselves dreaming of the animals. It ruins the narrative thread by taking us away from knowing what will happen to the caribou.
You'd think there would be other footage they could have used here.When they reach the herd five days later, silly dialogue detracts from "the big gathering."

Before the conclusion, their main purpose for following the caribou is finally reiterated in a segment that seems added in as an afterthought. This is the herd's delicate habit which is could be devastated if the plans by the oil company go ahead.

Despite its flaws, watching Allison and Heuer follow a herd of 120,000 caribou on foot across 1,500 kilometres of rugged tundra is one of the richly detailed highlights. Had they spent more time in making it more informative, it might have been more cohesive and, as a result, a superior documentary. In its present form, it still provides us with a closeup look at the caribou which is, at least, the main reason for seeing Being Caribou.

March 5, 2005

Copyright 2005 Rick Jackson