Comments on: Atanarjuat – The Fast Runner (no 74)

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05/06/10--22:07: By: Jamie (chan 1176251)

What are some that you think of JAFB? I'm always in the mood for something new that I might not have seen or even heard of.


05/06/10--22:11: By: Anu (chan 1176251)

Hi Sam I think the film is not Lapp but Inuit i.e. its not a Finnish indigenous group but a Canadian one. The film itself was very interesting and one that unlike many films on indigenous communities was made by and also for the Inuit.


05/06/10--22:11: By: Just Another Film Buff (chan 1176251)

Jamie, I wasn't thinking of any film in particular. I was thinking about those experimental video works, underground films and other pastiche works (like the late works of Godard) that usually turn out highly provocative.


05/07/10--01:49: By: coffee messiah (chan 1176251)

Of course, lacking pyrotechnics and other additions to films these days, this one does take you to a simpler time and place. No cell phones, tvs, radios, cars, etc, etc. Mesmerizing despite lacking what many find needed in their film experience. Well worth seeing and one you don't forget. Cheers!


05/07/10--05:14: By: Sam Juliano (chan 1176251)

Anu: You are quite right. In this sense I confused it with THE PATHFINDER, which is also a very good film, but not nearly as great as THE FAST RUNNER. Thanks for that clarification.


05/07/10--06:11: By: Margaret (chan 1176251)

Dennis, I felt the same. So much of the action was thrillingly strange--like the throat-singing; like the dialogue which is so sparse that every word has weight; complicated, delicate and subtle interactions between the characters, which suddenly abrupt into the utmost brutality. The steadfastness and goodness of the Fast Runner's wife, inspite of savage abuse, is a sort of moral star. And I won't even talk about the icy terrain where the story takes place--stranger to me than a moonscape (because we do see the moon every night!) All of it, unforgettable.


05/07/10--08:40: By: jeopardygirl (chan 1176251)

This is a brilliant film--both ethnically significant and universally accessible. If you're interested in seeing other films by the same group of Inuit, you can check them out at http://www.isuma.ca/. Most of their films are available free for download, although if you want to support a truly independent production company, there is the option to donate, as well.


05/07/10--19:10: By: Sam Juliano (chan 1176251)

"No cell phones, tvs, radios, cars, etc, etc." Aye, Michael. You really do have this film framed perfectly.


05/07/10--19:11: By: Sam Juliano (chan 1176251)

That's an a very interesting link there Jeopardy Girl, and as a Canadian I know you are particularly proud of this film as well you should. Thanks as always for the great comment.


05/07/10--20:47: By: MovieMan0283 (chan 1176251)

I haven't seen it but I love this line: "That it hasn’t proved the case has been put down to the old “well, how many films about Eskimos can you make”, to which one can only reply “well, how many films about working class British pluck can you make.” If you have people, if you have faces, you have a film."