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Product Description
Amazon.ca Canadian Essential
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner is the first feature film made in the Inuktitut language. Based on an ancient Inuit legend, it's an epic tale of love, betrayal, family, and survival played out against the harsh and barren white landscape of the Far North. Noteworthy for its cinematography, performances, and verisimilitude of the Inuit way of life before their exposure to Europeans. Also notable for how accomplished the film is considering its basic production values.
Amazon.ca
It's a story as old as humanity--one of love, jealousy, and betrayal, both within a family and between two families--but the setting, a starkly beautiful Arctic landscape, is not typical. The Fast Runner tells a ponderous tale of two brothers, Atanarjuat and Amaqjuaq, and their spiteful rival, Oki, who conspires to kill them when Atanarjuat wins the affections of Oki's promised wife, Atuat. Nearly three hours long, the film plays out like an ancient legend told to younger generations in warning. It's infused with a mysticism in which spirits cause the wicked actions of otherwise decent people.
The actors, all Native people speaking Inuktitut (with subtitles), bring a necessary subtlety to their roles that makes The Fast Runner feel more like a documentary than a typical feature film. It's easy to get lost in the drama of this snowy world, where dog sleds are the only transportation and meat is eaten raw, cut straight from the bone. The film's slow pace mirrors the pace of life in such harsh conditions, but the energy of its epic story, spanning three generations and affecting the lives of everyone in the group, is deeply compelling. --Adem Tepedelen
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a piece of work!,
By "fortancient" (Cincinnati, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (DVD)
One of the best films I have ever seen. This is not a movie for everyone. However, if you have an open mind, enjoy learing about other cultures, and are not afraid to think, then get this movie now. Cinemetography is excellent. I believe that it will be used as a teaching tool in anthopology courses for the next 100 years.Good stuff.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A terrific film,
By
This review is from: Atanarjuat: Fast Runner (DVD)
This is a fantastic film. It is a little slow at the beginning, but that reflects the nature of the far north; having lived and travelled in the Western Arctic, I can attest to the "slow-pace" of life that most northerners cherish and enjoy. I think it does a great job of capturing many aspects of Inuit culture such as the importance of family, the role of humour, etc. The film is based on a "strong" Inuit story/legend that is complex and involved; it's nice to see this considering that Aboriginal stories are typically stereotyped as short and carrying a "simple" moral lesson for children. It's a great movie and I would recommend it to anyone. It's a nice change from the usual big-budget films most of us watch regularly.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simple yet beautiful,
By A Customer
This review is from: Atanarjuat: Fast Runner (DVD)
This film is of a quality that normally eludes Canadian film-making, combining mythical elements of Inuit culture with the harsh reality of life in the Arctic. The acting is superb, the directing top-notch, and the script is humourous without sacrificing the gravity of the conflictual situation. The rugged life of the Arctic has never been made clearer than in this wonderful and uncomplicated film.
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