City Cinema: Wrong Husband (Uiksaringitara)

Drama. PG, mature themes.
Dir: Zacharias Kunuk, Canada, 2025, 100 min.
Haiden Angutimarik, Theresia Kappianaq, Leah Panimera. In Inuktitut with English subtitles.
Winner: Best Canadian Feature, The Toronto International Film Festival.

“Another tremendous fable from legendary Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, Wrong Husband pulls from legend and oral tradition to look at the darker, more complicated side of keeping a promise. Set far North in 2000 B.C.E., it blends dark comedy, horror, and a mythic quest to create a timeless story of love, looming evil, searching, and spiritual togetherness.  Sapa and Kaujak have been promised to each other as husband and wife from birth. They have a strong bond, loving kinship, and are valuable members of their tribe… But their lives together are torn apart after Kaujak’s mother becomes a widow and is courted by a mysterious male from a far away tribe. The fisherman takes Kaujak and her mother away from their tribe to live with him, where the young woman will be forced into a different marriage with his son. With time of the essence Sapa sets off on a quest to get his love back… Kunuk takes a wide variety of genre influences into his approach to Inuit culture, storytelling, and tradition… including visual effects, layered and creepy soundscapes, and even some nifty creature design… but it’s also a race against time thriller and moral parable with a good deal of humour… Another unique effort from one of Canada’s most unique talents.” —Andrew Parker, The Gate