ATANARJUAT (2001) / ** 1/2 aka THE FAST RUNNER [Inuktitut; English subtitles]
Directed by Zacharias Kunuk. Screenplay by Paul Apak Angilirq. Starring Natar Ungalaaq, Sylvia Ivalu, Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq. Running time: 167 minutes. Rated AA by the MFCB. Reviewed on May 22nd, 2002.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Centuries ago, in what would become the Canadian Arctic, Atuat (Ivalu) is promised to the malevolent Oki (Arnatsiaq), son of the leader of their tribe. But Atuat loves the good-natured Atanarjuat (Ungalaaq), who ultimately finds a way to marry her. Oki's sister, Puja (Lucy Tulugarjuk) also fancies Atanarjuat, and when she causes strife between him and his brother Amaqjuaq (Pakkak Innushuk), Oki seizes the opportunity to wreak a terrible revenge on Atanarjuat.
Review: "Atanarjuat" is a rare beast indeed: a movie made entirely in Inuktitut, the language of the indigenous peoples of Canada's north. Largely the product of native filmmakers, it takes full advantage of the Inuit heritage. "Atanarjuat" offers a revealing depiction of their culture prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America, portraying everything from the mundanities of life -- hunting and igloo-building -- to the mysticism of the natives. Indeed, it is unfortunate that the latter element is included only haphazardly, because it is very intriguing, and plays an important role in the movie's climactic moments. Director Kunuk and cinematographer Norman Cohn do a fabulous job of capturing the starkly beautiful vistas of the Great White North, from the ruggedness of the tundra to the majesty of the ice floes. The key characters are effectively archetypes and therefore are not unusual creations, but the castmembers inhabit them well and do not let them descend into caricatures. The main flaw of "Atanarjuat" is its pacing, which is -- excuse the pun -- glacial. This is not a film which needs to be almost three hours long, and the slow and fragmented initial build-up, in particular, is to the detriment of the movie's overall momentum. Were it an hour or so shorter, "Atanarjuat" would be a very good film indeed.
Copyright © 2002 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ / Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \ \__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/
========== X-RAMR-ID: 31880 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 315154 X-RT-TitleID: 1113448 X-RT-SourceID: 886 X-RT-AuthorID: 1699 X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/4
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