Rating: R
Genre:
Adventure
Theatrical Release: 06/07/2002(USA
Release Date: 02/11/2003
SubTitles: English
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 161 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Rape & Sexual Abuse, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Columbia TriStar
Atanarjuat the Fast Runner is the first feature film in the Inuktitut language, spoken by the Inuit tribes of northern Canada. The film, based on an ancient Inuit legend, is set at the dawn of the millennium. It's an epic tale of love, betrayal, and revenge, set in motion by an evil force brought to the village of Igloolik by a mysterious shaman. Conceived by the late
Paul Apak Angilirq, who co-wrote the screenplay, the film was shot on widescreen digital video by
Norman Cohn (one of the few non-Inuit crew members on the shoot) and directed by
Zacharias Kunuk.
Kunuk and his crew meticulously re-created the conditions the Inuit tribes lived under before exposure to Southern influences, using information handed down from tribe elders and the journals of
Captain William Edward Parry, a British explorer who visited the area in 1822. The film tells the story of
Atanarjuat (
Natar Ungalaq), an unassuming young man who falls in love with
Atuat (
Sylvia Ivalu), whose hand has already been promised to the scheming
Oki (
Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq), the son of the tribal chief.
Atanarjuat doesn't think he's strong enough to fight
Oki, and relies on his older brother, the powerful
Amaqjuaq (
Pakkak Innukshuk), to look out for him. But eventually, the jealous
Oki challenges
Atanarjuat to a brutal contest for
Atuat's hand.
Atanarjuat wins, and weds his love, but his problems are far from over. While
Atuat is pregnant,
Oki's sister, the flirtatious
Puja (
Lucy Tulugarjuk), seduces
Atanarjuat and becomes his second wife. She disrupts
Atanarjuat's family from within while
Oki plans his revenge.
Atanarjuat the Fast Runner won the Camera D'Or at
Cannes in 2001, and was selected for
the 2002 New Directors/New Films Festival at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
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