Reviews on movie Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (3)

There are films for which there is a desire to write an extensive review; there are those for which you do not want to write anything; and there are those for which you can write very briefly and in this case it is one word - GOOD!
1. The plot: original, interesting; but the story of love, betrayal and struggle, like the world is not new. The highlight is precisely the place and time of events and their participants. 8 points.

2. Visual component: medium. Personally, I lacked scope, space. What an epic way to show off Canada! And that would be appropriate and entirely within the framework of the film's idea. And the whole film is visually focused on small spaces, which is not good for perception. 6 points

3. Musical accompaniment: separately pleases the emphasis on folklore, but this is not enough to fill the whole picture, which is saddening. 6 points

4. Play actors, cast: I believed everything that was happening and not for a moment did not feel false or fake! 10 points

5. The idea is to live by the principles of goodness and not give up. A good idea that permeates the folklore of probably any people on the planet Earth. 8 points

Advantages: originality, good selection and play of actors, an interesting story.

Disadvantages: some stretching of the narrative (subjective factor of perception), “squeezing” of the frame.
My final result is that I recommend it. Fans of special effects (pictures), women in latex costumes, etc. - to view is contraindicated!

The world’s first feature film made in the language of Canadian Eskimos. I could not help but attract attention. Who else but the Canadian Eskimos could see it in the original language? And yet original in intent. The main character of the film is a hunter with a difficult to remember name Atanarjuta, which means fast-legged. Because of his love for the girl Ataut, he comes into conflict with his countryman. The latter, determined to take revenge on Fastfoot, incites ... and the like, so as not to retell.

Cinematographers cannot but be attracted by such films. There's no choice. Unusual, for example, about the language stated in the abstract bribes. But does that justify the viewer’s expectations? In this case, I think so. I think the movie is a little long. But in principle, the “Fast Runner” is not designed for rapid “absorption”. This is a film of what is called an art house. Yeah, it's a different movie. A beautiful soundtrack that cannot be imagined in any other form. Impression of the film: a refined calm cinematic pleasure.

8 out of 10

A small settlement of Inuit Canadian Eskimos. Two brothers - the younger Athanarjuat (Fast-footed) and the elder Amakjuak (Silach) - challenge the clan of the leader in the face of the boastful and envious son of the leader of Oka. The moment of truth comes on the day that Athanarjuat wins the heart of the beautiful Atuat, who rejected Oka for him. Ritual fistfight between two men determines the strongest among the two candidates for the heart of the girl and at the same time her future husband. But from that moment on, in a small and peaceful nomadic tribe, evil spirits find their permanent residence.
Defeated in a fair fight, Oki vows to take revenge on his opponent. First, he attaches his lazy and lustful sister to the happy Athanarjuat family as his second wife. And then with its help, he makes an insidious attack on his sleeping brothers, as a result of which Amaqjuak dies. And the youngest escapes naked on the ice, to return after some time.
In 1922, the great Robert Flaherty showed the world the masterpiece “Nanuk from the North” – an interpretation of his own long-term observations of the life of the Eskimos, poetically glorifying the coexistence and struggle of man with the harsh nature of the polar region. Half a century later, in 1957, Zacharias Kunuk was born - another Eskimo, whose family, nine years after its appearance, ceased to lead a nomadic lifestyle and settled on the island of Baffin.
At the age of 24, the aspiring sculptor Kunook sold three of his works in Montreal and bought a video camera. After that, he created a studio with two countrymen and began to shoot a TV movie about the life of his fellow tribesmen. The crown of their activities could be a 13-episode non-game epic “Our Land”. However, the brave trio decided not to stop there and went on - in the feature film.
The “fast runner” came out when two of them were no longer in the world. What can you do: Eskimos do not live long - on average up to 40 years. The debut was the first full-length feature film shot in the Inuit language and combined several tribal legends of the Inuit in one plot. The almost three-hour epic marked the beginning of the national cinematography of the Eskimos and triumphantly swept through prestigious festivals, starting with Cannes.
The very fact of months of filming in conditions as close as possible to combat, when outdoors on average minus 40 Celsius, was akin to a feat. But the result – from the carefully reproduced integrity of life and rituals to serious Shakespearean passions – is impressive without discounts for total weather force majeure and does not “leave chances” to classify this work as the so-called “ethnographic cinema”. Absolutely accessible in its message, the film, virgin and pure, like Arctic snow, fascinates like a mysterious dance of a shaman.