The Fast Runner [Atanarjuat]

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="06dd8c02dduajq.jpg"> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">       <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="At The Movies With Lutz"><U><IMG SRC="0660b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="46eb8090.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="265" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>Judy & Lutz Perschon</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Judy Lutz Perschon"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >back to</FONT>  <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="At The Movies With Lutz"><U><B>At The Movies With Lutz</B></U></A></div> <div> The Fast Runner [Atanarjuat]</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="787" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 229 WIDTH="775"><div> This movie is not for everyone.   First of all it is subtitled and that will finish it for some.  But for those who are willing to read a little this movie has some merit.  It is slow in places, but it does portray a culture we know little about in what appears to be a fairly realistic way.  We come to see what a hard life the Inuit live and how they deal with issues of love, marriage and family.   I do not agree with the storyline below that there are intensely erotic moments, but there is some sexuality.   It also deals with spirituality, in that early in the movie an evil spirit comes to live amoung them, and what was interesting, is how it was dealt with in the end.   Interwoven into it is forgiveness, but not without a price.   It is a culture much removed from ours; primitive, but we can learn some things.  It is slow, but not boring.  A warning in that it has frontal nudity, of a man no less, but it is within context and not very sexual at all.   Whether some of the swear words are properly translated only an Inuit could say, but that's what we have deal with.  I admire the effort it took to put this movie together and given the harsh conditions in which it was shot, it is better than some of the Hollywood trash out there.   Give it a whirl if you want something a little, make that quite a bit, different.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 51 WIDTH="775"><div> Lutz's Rating  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <img src="HTMLobj-1135/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="21" height="21">  </FONT></div> <div> Judy's Rating  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <img src="HTMLobj-1136/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="21" height="21">  </FONT></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 165 WIDTH="775"><div> Storyline From Yahoo:  The first Inuit language movie, based on an ancient legend, The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat) is the story of two generations of igloo-dwelling Inuit whose harmonious existence is disrupted by the presence of an evil spirit. Atanarjuat (Natar Ungalaaq) falls in love with Atuat (Sylvia Ivalu) who has been promised to the chief’s evil-afflicted son, Oki (Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq). Meanwhile Oki’s sexually voracious sister Puja (Lucy Tulugarjuk) desires Atanajurat for herself. Betrayal, seduction, and bloodshed follow. Genuinely spooky shamanistic rituals, intensely erotic moments, and an incredible chase across a melting glacier are just a few of the highlights in this three-hour debut feature of Inuit director Zacharias Kunuk. It was filmed on location in the Arctic, with an all-Inuit cast, in and out of actual igloos lit solely by seal oil lamps. The results are breathtaking: yellow and purple skies, vast, flat ice-covered horizons and naturalistic performances from the (mostly inexperienced) actors combine to make this a one-of-a-kind viewing experience. With equal attention paid to authenticity and narrative, ATANARJUAT emerges as both as a vital cultural document and an innovative dramatic film (shot on digital video and transferred to 35mm). </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>