Man of Aran

The Aran Islands off the west of Ireland. There is almost no soil; the islanders carry seaweed and sand up from the rocks and make earth by hand. The sea is a constant threat. The film follows the daily life of a family: planting potatoes, going out in the boat, hunting basking shark. Robert Flaherty directs. His method is contested and it is what the film is known for. Flaherty is not filming a documentary; he stages the scenes. The family in the film is not a family but people chosen separately. The shark hunt had not been practised on the island for fifty years; Flaherty taught the islanders how to do it again and filmed that. The reason for these choices is clear. Flaherty wanted to film the struggle between people and nature rather than everyday poverty; rent, land ownership and the colonial order are entirely absent. Irish critics said so for years. Against that, the footage of the sea is real and extraordinary. The crew stayed on the island for months and the storm sequences were shot in genuine danger. The film remains at the centre of the argument in film history about the limits of documentary. Who it is for: anyone interested in the history of documentary and in films about the struggle with nature. Who it is not for: there is no narrative, staged scenes are presented as real, and the life the film shows is largely invented.