An Inuit Epic in Shades of White
By A. O. SCOTT, N.Y. Times
...It's always interesting when a hitherto unrepresented corner of the world
shows up on the screen. Part of the wonder of the movies, even at this late
date in their history, lies in their ability to acquaint us with cultures
and places far removed from what we already know. The arrival of a movie
that expands the scope of our experience, that immerses us in a radically
different point of view, is always a welcome event, and such a movie does
not necessarily have to be great to be interesting.
"The Fast Runner," however, is not merely an interesting document from a
far-off place; it is a masterpiece. Mr. Kunuk's film, which won the Caméra
d'Or for best first feature at last year's Cannes International Film
Festival, is much more than an ethnographic curiosity. It is, by any
standard, an extraordinary film, a work of narrative sweep and visual beauty
that honors the history of the art form even as it extends its perspective.
The myth that Eskimos have dozens of words for snow may have been
discredited by linguists, but Mr. Cohn, using a widescreen digital video
camera, has discovered at least a dozen distinct shades of white, from the
bluish glow of the winter ice to the warm creaminess of coats made of polar
bear fur. Shot over six months and taking place across a span of many years,
"The Fast Runner" captures the movement of the seasons above the Arctic
Circle and the ways climate and the migratory patterns of animals have
influenced the traditional Inuit way of life.
Although it has the close, intimate feel of the present tense [~] an effect
partly of the hand-held video camera and the unaffected emotions of the
actors [~] the film reconstructs those traditions rather than documenting
them. You are so completely caught up in the codes and rituals of a nomadic,
tribal society governed by complex ideas of honor and loyalty that it is
easy to overlook the artistry that has put them before you. During the end
credits, as if to remind the audience that this is not a documentary, the
cast and crew are glimpsed in leather jackets and sunglasses, pushing
sled-mounted cameras across the snow.
Though the story takes a while to establish itself, it has the clarity and
power common to epics from the sagas of ancient Scandinavia to the westerns
of the old Hollywood. The first half-hour, which turns out to be a prologue
to the main narrative, is a little confusing, in part because it immediately
plunges into arcane Inuit lore. "I can only say this story to someone who
understands it," a voiceover says at the beginning, and what follows slowly
creates the conditions for that understanding.
The people of Igloolik suffer under a shamanic curse that causes bad luck
and dissension in their midst. Atanarjuat (Natar Ungalaaq), a child at the
start of the movie, comes into a legacy of ill will when he falls in love
with Atuat (Sylvia Ivalu), who has been promised to the chief's son, an
arrogant hothead named Oki (Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq). The rivalry between them
is as violent and stirring as anything in Victor Hugo, and it fills the
screen with a kind of outsize life-or-death passion that is all too rare in
movies these days.
Because different camps and clans in the tribe depend on one another for
survival, Atanarjuat and Oki are continually butting heads [~] or, as in a
ritual contest to decide who will marry Atuat, punching each other in the
head. The tragic cycle of vengeance and cruelty consumes them for years, but
"The Fast Runner" also abounds with humor and sensuality. Mr. Kunuk has
accomplished the remarkable feat of endowing characters from an old folk
tale with complicated psychological motives and responses. The combination
of dramatic realism and archaic grandeur is irresistibly powerful.
So is Mr. Kunuk's visual command. "The Fast Runner" includes some
unforgettable sequences, shot in the smoky interiors of igloos, out on the
ice and in fields of yellow grass and purple clover during the brief spring
thaw. The most astonishing scene [~] during which Oki and his minions, after a
brutal assault on their enemy's tent, pursue the naked, barefoot Atanarjuat
across a vast expanse of ice [~] has already become something of a classic, a
word that will quickly be bestowed on the film as a whole.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/07/movies/07RUNN.html?8mu
Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright
law ( http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html ).
All copyrights belong to original publisher.
Rhino's Weblog is the responsability of The Rhino.
Gary Rhine
rhino@kifaru.com
http://www.kifaru.com
http://www.dreamcatchers.org
http://radio.weblogs.com/0103207/
“If we don’t change direction, we’re gonna wind up where we’re
headin’.”
Reuben A. Snake Jr. (Winnebago)
7:43:07 AM 
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