Rating: 
Summary: An absolutely unique video experience!
Review: What happens when a professional photographic puts his skills under the direction of a Native American Inuit Culture? They tell their story their way, what they have been doing for thousands of years without cameras. This setting is so far north that you start wondering how much contact this culture has even in 2003 with the outside world. The women tatoo their faces for beauty and the men have contests taking turns smacking each other up side the head. They live in snow block igloos that have one single family room. Sex education consists of staying up awhile and watching. Their transportation is by kayak or dog sled. So what is the secret of a tribe/clan living together in such close proximity battling the harshest conditions on the planet? The ancient ones know and have known for thousands of years. You must know about the evil spirits that turn the hearts of people to doing evil deeds. You must know who the clan shamans are with power to see this and help. You overcome the evil by using your spiritual bond with your totem animal. Is this so primitive? It has been the Inuit way for over twenty thousand years to learn how to live together and to live with nature. Western culture still needs to learn. This is rare exposure to one of the oldest cultures on earth. If you value unique experiences and people of the mother earth, this is the film for you.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Film, BUT...
Review: Yes, this is a fantastic film, made by a rich, beautiful culture, and for these things alone this film should be celebrated and cherished. However, I have a problem with this DVD. The running time for the film on this DVD is 161 minutes. However, if you go to the "Atnarjuat" web site, you'll notice that the running time is officially listed at 172 minutes. My question is, where are the extra 11 minutes? I wouldn't complain about this except that the storyline detailed on the official "Atnarjuat" web site includes some rather important plot points that were simply missing from the film I saw (the 161 minute film). Shame on Lot47! Give us the film that these wonderful filmmakers created, not your edited version!
Rating:
Summary: A Not-to-be-Missed Film Masterpiece
Review: You have never seen a movie like The Fast Runner. You've likely avoided movies like The Fast Runner, but it would be an injustice to avoid this masterpiece of cinema art. There's no other way to refer to this unique film. Visually it showers the viewer with images never before seen in a movie, never even imagined. Surreal sunsets, rippling vistas of snow that look like the ocean, amazing faces, bizarre rituals, ancient tools, instructions on building an ice house, and more shades of white than you ever knew existed. If this were a documentary on a three-thousand-year old culture, it could not have been more well-researched and faithful to the smallest details.Be prepared for what is initially a confusing and slow experience in storytelling. The faces look alike, and the family relationships are not immediately easy to grasp, made even more confusing by the leaps in time at the beginning. But take your time and let the story come to you. It's worth it. It all makes sense eventually. This is an ancient story of evil corrupting man and the eradication of evil through love and forgiveness; a love story of jealousy, revenge, survival, tragedy and finally, justice and redemption. The characters become like personal friends before the film is over, as we are completey caught up in the complex nature of the relationships. There is a reason stories like these survive for thousands of years, because there is so much universal truth inherent in them that they always have something to teach us, despite what at first seems so alien. We recognize ourselves in these people. The utterly simple, straightforward and honest style of storytelling here, in the final analysis, overleaps the boundaries of language and race. And for a really cool finale, during the closing credits we see behind-the-scenes footage of the actors and crew in their leather jackets and walkmans joking around with each other, working the equipment, and shivering in the snow, just like we would be doing, reminding us how little distance there really is from there to here.
Rating:
Summary: Location Location Location
Review: This was the first movie I have ever seen that the audience clapped wildly and then didn't get up, the out takes at the end gave us a bit more to hold on to. I saw this movie in Anchorage, that helped make it very real. One of those movies your thought about and discussed for several days, would like to see it again to see more. VERY GOOD
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating epic
Review: Like a lot of people, I suspect, I saw the movie out of curiosity. I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to. The universals it depicts-- anger, jealousy, hatred, love, revenge-- are familiar to everyone. The acting was fantastic-- I was particularly impressed with the two female leads. I found the lengthy depictions of daily life to be fascinating-- the preparation of dinner, for example. There were certainly points where the movie dragged: watching an actor race through the snow for a very long time, while it effectively conveyed the idea that he had run long and far, got rather boring. (Not to mention that in the actor's situation, to judge from the clips of the production crew following him in dog sleds that showed at the end of the film, I would have been tempted to throw something at the parka-clad, sled-riding cameramen. But that's probably just me.) I saw this movie in the theater. There was no intermission. I was definitely ready for the end. But as someone who's interested in anthropology, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants an interesting depiction of Inuit life-- and who's willing to sit through a glorious epic with fantastic acting in a beautiful setting.
Rating:
Summary: What a piece of work!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Novel, with incredible scenery and realism
Review:
I'd like to simply comment on the movie, but let me go on the topic that dominates the reviews of this flick, and that is the fact that it's only about Native Americans:
Ever since Dances With Wolves, any film showing an aboriginal culture has to display them as incredibly noble just people who are cruelly subjugated by the white man. It was refreshing to see a film that just showed aboriginal people in a story without interference from the outside, in an untouched, natural setting. This allowed for an unbelievably interesting movie that does far more service to native peoples than any dumbed-down morality tale from Hollywood that spoon-feeds the audience a lot of propaganda and misunderstanding. To see these people stand on their own in the face of the world's most adverse weather, is a great testament to the capabilities of people with 'primitive' lifestyles. If you think it's tough working at minimum wage at Taco Bell, try living on the tundra without so much as jack knife.
I also thought it was cool that the people weren't shown to be living in some type of Disney-esque, pre-white utopia in which the healing power of the Earth and Moon brought peace and prosperity and perfect ecological harmony, and all that garbage. It showed these people as both magnificent and terrible, the same way people all over the world are.
... Any individual raised in an ethnic group can have initial trouble identifying individuals in another group. The most striking characteristics of a person's race - hair, eye, and skin color, will dominate your image of them, and make it difficult to memorize the more subtle details, like facial features and body proportions.
'Nuff said about that. This movie is beautifully shot. I'd have to say it's one of the most unique movies I've ever seen. The frozen landscapes are endless and mind-blowing. The acting wasn't incredible, but it was pretty good, and the actors really seemed to know what they were doing in the snow. The chase scene was pretty damn intense, and I have to hand it to the actor who pulled it off. I'm sure there were warm blankets and stuff off-camera, but those were some pretty long shots!
The story itself was good, but the movie was loooong. For that I was grateful, but I'm glad I saw it on DVD because there was no intermission, and I hate sitting in a seat for more than 2.5 hours at a time.
Overall, this is probably the most interesting pic I saw in 2002. Definitely worth purchase by anyone who is totally sick of worn-out movie plots and cliches that are getting so hard to escape from these days. If you're into outdoor survival, or anthropology, this movie almost doubles as a documentary. Though the people aren't living naturally, it does a good job of showing how they did. Almost no one in North America lives this way anymore, but there are people in the netheregions of Siberia who are still living much like the folks in this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Number 1of 2002
Review: If you are an ignoramous who thinks the sun rises and sets on
the western world (Canada and 48 other US states)then don't see this film. If you are interested in foreign and/or aboriginal culture ways of life then do yourself a favor and invest 172 minutes of your time on earth learning about a fascinating society.One, when you think about it, isn't much different than yours. This is a film about family,love,hate,jealousy,revenge,survival and ultimately reconciliation. Sound familiar.Waiting for a sequel...
Rating:
Summary: Aatanarjuat (The Fast Runner)
Review: Excellent movie. educational and informative, really allows viewer to learn and understand about a little known indigenous tribe living in the far northern lands of Alaska. The movie is 3 plus hours of the life of a indigenous clan. How the families interact and hunt, eat and live together in a very harsh environment. Movie is produced in the native language, therefore, sub-title reading is required. I had the opportunity to see the movie while living in Alaska, summer 2002.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent film
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and was not bothered at all by the length (about 3 hours). Not only was it fascinating because of the story, but I learned a great deal about the Inuit culture as well. I recommend it highly, but not for young children. They would probably be bored because it is not totally action-packed, and the parents would go crazy trying to read all the subtitles to them! I hope to purchse the dvd soon!
|
