In 1845, the British send John Franklin with two ships and three years supply on a well-equipped expedition to find the Northwest Passage in the Artic but the group disappears. Franklin's wife eventually convinces the Admiralty to offer a £20,000 reward. She even pursues spirits and psychics. In 1854, John Rae (Rick Roberts) of the Hudson's Bay Company discovers Eskimo tales of the lost Franklin expedition having resorted to cannibalism. Many including Lady Franklin with help from Charles Dickens fought against the leaked report condemning Rae to ignominy and elevating Franklin as the hero adventurer who discovered the Passage.
This is a documentary about John Rae starting with his life and departure from Orkney. Rick Roberts studies his life in Orkney and then travels to Canada's north to see the Inuit ways. Director John Walker and his actors are working on recreating scenes of the story. It's part documentary and part actors' workshop. It's an usual way to do a documentary and some of it feels unnecessarily stretched out. There is a weird combative section where former Naval officer and historian Coleman claims the Franklin expedition was slaughtered by natives. The Charles Dickens part is the big discovery. This is educational about a little known aspect of the famous historical event.
This is a documentary about John Rae starting with his life and departure from Orkney. Rick Roberts studies his life in Orkney and then travels to Canada's north to see the Inuit ways. Director John Walker and his actors are working on recreating scenes of the story. It's part documentary and part actors' workshop. It's an usual way to do a documentary and some of it feels unnecessarily stretched out. There is a weird combative section where former Naval officer and historian Coleman claims the Franklin expedition was slaughtered by natives. The Charles Dickens part is the big discovery. This is educational about a little known aspect of the famous historical event.