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Atanarjuat (2001) Plus avec IMDbPro »

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102 commentaires au total

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52 utilisateurs sur 63 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Beautiful, Unprecedented, 12 octobre 2002

Auteur : rtaylor150 (rtaylor150@carolina.rr.com) de Charlotte, North Carolina

I saw this movie last night and went to bed without words. After having a chance to sleep on it, it is now starting to sink in how truly amazing this movie was. You will be first blown away by the fact that this movie even exists. It is truly unprecedented in every sense of the word. I don't remember seeing anything like it, since maybe "Nanook of the North", which would be a stretch. Unlike "Nanook", this movie is shot from the Inuit perspective, the characters are not looked upon as anthropological specimens. They are people living in a fragile existence, where any wrong move could mean sure death.

The actors are astonishing, and it must have been so terribly cold up there, that you know this was a labor of love for the production team. The scenery is astonishing. Almost everyone who participated in this production was full-blooded Inuit. It is a beautiful story based on an Inuit legend that exists on many different levels and subplots, etc. All told on the frozen tundra without ANY indication given about the timeframe, or even century, in which it was set.

I am just astonished at the painstaking attention to historical detail. I have read many books on Inuit culture, and most everything I have read was visualized in this movie, the social structure, the power of the patriarch, the constant looming of starvation, the role of the hunter/husband, the insubordination of women (pre-arranged marriages), the obsession with taboo and curses, the fine art of building igloos and staying warm in -60 temps, and yet, through all the hardships, there was so much happiness. They even showed how the dogs were handled and treated, even down to the way they would slicken their sledge rails by spitting small amounts of water on them until a layer of slick frozen ice formed, which makes the sledges slide easier over the pack ice. The one thing that I thought of today was how the movie was TOTALLY absent of the white, European influence. Their knives were made from caribou horns; they had no metal knives or metal cookware, which indicates that the movie was purposely based on a time before the Inuit's first contact with white men.

It has a slow start, it's only fault. You will be a bit confused at first, trying to understand the characters and what exactly is happening, but then it starts to really suck you in, you begin to love the protagonists, who are physically beautiful people, and then you will grow to hate the antagonists, who are mean and undesirable. Afterwards, you will realize that almost all of these people, cast and crew, were full-blooded Inuit. You will then want to immediately see it again and demand a documentary on the making of this film. You will want to know who these people are, what they do in their normal lives, because most of these actors are making their big screen debut. The end of the movie gives you a quick behind-the-scenes peek, but it serves as only a small appetizer to a bigger feast. Most importantly, your respect for their pride and perseverance of their culture will increase ten-fold

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31 utilisateurs sur 45 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
A remarkable film that dramatizes an Inuit legend with Inuit actors, in Inuktitut with English subtitles., 17 août 2003
Auteur : alec1013

Perhaps the word that best describes this film is 'remarkable'. It is remarkable that it was made at all, by an Inuit film company, remarkable that it was shot on location in the High Arctic in conditions of winter and summer, remarkable for its absolute authenticity, for its faithfulness both to its subject and to the Inuit culture, which transcends remarkable.

I have been to the High Artic more than once. I have sat in the great silence of the north on the late summer tundra when it turns purple and the winds begin to blow across the ground and make the cotton grass sing. I have heard the snow squeak at thirty-five below zero, as it did in this film; filming in such conditions must have been a nightmare. Metal does strange things at those temperatures; cameras freeze and film becomes brittle and breaks into pieces. Actors get cold and those just standing around get colder. There are no local power sources. And everything must be flown in by transport plane, including everything needed for the film crew to live and eat. There are no hotels and no restaurants, no pub of an evening and the daylight hours for filiming in February or March are very short. And in the summer, there are the flies.

The use of Inuktitut, which is still a living language, preserves that essential atmosphere of complete authenticity; the building of igloos, the darkness inside the communal dwelling with only seal oil lamps, the use of bone and driftwood and dried seaweed for tools and fuel are absolutely authentic. And yet not once did I have the impression of watching a documentary. These were real people, living real lives, using real tools, wearing real clothing, relying on the hunt, on luck and on each other for survival.

The story is set a thousand years ago. It is a legend, but one easily sees that it was a real story, passed down through time in the oral tradition. As it plays itself out - in the slow pace of Inuit time, not the frantic, high-pressure pace of our everyday existence - the rules of survival become clear, family alliances, taboos, social practices. Where survival in a lethal environment is moment to moment, social rules broken have immediate consequences not only for individuals but for the whole community, which usually consisted of no more than a dozen or so related individuals. Jealousy, murder, theft could not be tolerated. The story must not, therefore, be judged by our standards. The only way to see this film is with complete openness; not only must you let the characters tell you the events of their drama, you must let them show you why those events were so destructive and why their way of dealing with it was right for them.

This is about survival in a way that someone living in a city with a supermarket down the street, medical care and central heating can probably never fully grasp. It is not for the small-minded, not for anyone who cannot see past his own prejudices or narrow moral concepts and it is not for the squeamish. Survival is messy; it involves animal guts and blood and pain, it involves you in your own continued existence in a way that we can no longer experience in all our plenty and our ease. This film is also about fierce love, blinding jealousy, hatred, courage and abiding patience - all things we share in our common humanity. But the filmmakers did not present the characters as 'noble savages'. Life was about food, about having it or not having it, about hunting it, gathering it, bringing it home, preparing it, preserving it, eating it and then doing it all over again. All the time. The Inuit are in no way 'primitive' people, whatever that truly means; this is how they survived. We couldn't do it - and perhaps that makes us the primitives.

I was fascinated. It takes a short while to become used to the unfamiliar, the setting, the names, the culture shock. After that, it is compelling, and very, very real. The events unfold tragically and inevitably in a distressingly familiar, a frighteningly human way. And you care deeply about the characters, about what happens to them, about whether they win out - because it is made very clear that they have every chance of not surviving for any number of reasons.

And it is gorgeous. The Artic is immensely photogenic but the cinematography was up to the challenge. The sounds are a whole new experience for those who have never been there - the wind, the squeak and crunch of the snow, the dogs, the singing, the drumming, the rattling of bones, the sounds of the ice.

This film is an experience; if the Arctic has ever intrigued you, this must not be missed.

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14 utilisateurs sur 15 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
The film makes the most of the immense snowy landscape…, 8 décembre 2008

Auteur : ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) de Mexique

It tells a legend from the two thousand years ago, about Atanarjuat, who incurs the jealous enmity of Oki when he marries Atuat… Oki kills Atanarjuat's brother, but Atanarjuat escapes in a stunning sequence, running naked across the ice floes, outstripping his pursuers until, his feet torn and bloody, he is taken in by a friendly sorcerer…

The motion picture concedes nothing in the way of authenticity, with sequences that show in realistic detail the training of sled-dogs, cutting up animal carcasses or making an igloo… But the convincing ethnographic elements only serve to intensify the compelling story and characters, which take on a truly epic dimension…

If the purpose of a national cinema is to represent the culture of the peoples it belongs to, then "Atanarjuat" achieves this victoriously, both the content of the film and the manner of its telling being wholly specific to Canada, yet in the process achieving a universal appeal…

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19 utilisateurs sur 27 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
A different language, 20 janvier 2003
Auteur : (sprengerguido@hotmail.com) de Taipei

The biggest surprise about the for Inuit-produced feature is that you do not need to be politically correct to like it. It is, besides a few excusable flaws, just a great film. It is extremely difficult to transfer stories from foreign cultures and oral traditions to the screen - the whole visual language of the media is loaded with subtle assumptions on how stories hold together and characters should act; and these assumptions mostly belong to "Western"-modern culture. I think this films great achievement is to avoid much of it. One example: It's not just due to the villainous character of some persons that they behave badly - the conflicts are not just conflicts between individuals. It's rather the entire community that is ill, due to spirit possession.

The film is told in a somewhat different visual language, and this is what makes it so convincing; this is also what makes it difficult to understand at times (particularly in the beginning), but this is the price to pay - it is rather surprising how comprehensible it gets later. The film as a whole is really exciting and touching. It's pace is slow (and I like slow-paced movies). It's solutions for particular scenes are striking - the appearance of the bad spirit in the end is eerie, and the effect is just done by the camera position. On the other hand, there is a sort a documentary immediacy to everything, as if the camera just happened to be in the right spot when the story unfolded (I liked the burping and spitting a lot).

There are, of course, points that don't work out well: The music is the usual One-World-Tribal-kitsch-mud, with didgeridoos and Tuvan throat-singing, as if every "primitive" culture was just the same (an idea originating from 18th century Europe and strangely enough professed by many "tribal" activists today). But, well, it's pretty discrete...

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16 utilisateurs sur 22 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Riveting, 29 mars 2004

Auteur : Mark-309 de Lafayette, Louisiana

The atmosphere, the culture, the legend brought to life, the score, the people, it was magical realism done right. I read a lot of insulting reader comments on this film, and I am so glad I went to see it anyway. It was long, but it was in no way slow. I was riveted.

True, it did have a documentary feel... but I like documentaries... you could think of it as a documentary on Inuit legends and story telling as seen by the story tellers and their listeners. The effect was to allow the audience to share the feelings of persons in an alien culture.

The score was eclectic, effectively changing from Inuit chants to Gyuto Monk chants, and then to eerie Bulgarian choral music, and back to Inuit. Again, the effect was to blur cultural boundaries and move the viewer away from the familiar and into the Inuit.

If there was one small fault, the subtitles were done in white, which did not always show up against the landscape. Yellow might have been a better choice.

I suspect that if you are a fan of Jim Jarmusch's "Dead Man" (as I am) then you will be one of this film as well.

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6 utilisateurs sur 7 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Though provoking and well made, 27 décembre 2004

Auteur : faziz

I don't recall a movie with such a basic storyline grip me for the entire movie. I live in a very cold climate and my appreciation for the Inuit (and other northern aboriginals) has magnified. This movie did not get the publicity it deserved not even in its native country. I do not recommend reviewing the extras on the disc before watching it, it does have a slow start as you try to understand the hierarchy of the tribe, but when it goes you are on edge. What amazed me the most is that these UN-POLISHED actors did such a remarkable job especially in their emotional display. Worth buying to keep, such gens don't come easy

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7 utilisateurs sur 9 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Beautiful film-making!, 26 juillet 2005

Auteur : freimarck16 de Etats-Unis

This is a beautiful example of passionate film-making, and mesmerizes from the beginning. As an American, I was COMPLETELY ignorant of the Inuit, and decided to rent this film mostly due to word of mouth. Stick it out through the first half hour: getting past the difficult names does take some effort. But it's awesomely rewarded by the next two hours. The landscape will take your breath away, and the story will hold you captive. Underneath the sheer artistry, closely examine the fight against "evil-spirits:" it's even relevant to today's struggle against the so-called powerful. What struck me particularly was how naturally the characters understood the razor-thin balance between life and starvation.

Simply put, I was breathless after seeing this film.

I could recommend this film on the cinematography alone. Adding in the screen writing, acting, and the simply groundbreaking aspect of Inuit film-making, you cannot put off seeing this film.

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9 utilisateurs sur 13 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Excellent!, 1 mars 2003

Auteur : artzau de Sacramento, CA

This is a fantastic film made by Inuit actors with a will. Unbelievable scenes with wonderful photography and chilling (no pun intended) moments. The tale may be a bit hard to get into as the entire perspective is given from the Inuit point of view from the get-go. Many Western audiences will just have to go along with a great leap of faith. There is much that serious film critics can frown at as many of the scenes are a bit jerky in transition but the heart of the story and they way it unfolds in Inuit fashion is there for all to see and partake in. I sat spellbound for the entirety of the film and wanted more at its ending. As an anthropologist, I certainly appreciated the faithfulness of the representation of Inuit culture in terms of the ethnographic works I've read and as a movie buff, I applaud a wonderful job of Inuit actors and film makers sharing their world with us.

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7 utilisateurs sur 11 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
You'll Never Look at the Arctic in the Same Way, 30 janvier 2004

Auteur : Lori (freedom17@hotmail.com) de Valley Forge, PA

I'll admit--I had my doubts about this one. How can anyone make a movie in a frozen wasteland, where the entire backdrop is ice and snow? How can anyone make that intriguing?

I found out how. This was one of the most masterfully written, directed and filmed pictures I've ever seen. The director presents a common thread immediately--a love triangle--and gives us a glimpse of mankind's liknesses despite the venue. The movie was rich in plot, heavy in intrigue and thick with character. By far a terrific movie, one of my favorites.

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9 utilisateurs sur 15 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Fantastic, 25 février 2005

Auteur : WindWoman3 de Etats-Unis

This film is so gorgeous and so memorable that I will be hunting down (pun intended) a copy of it TOMORROW! It's a "must-have" for any serious movie lover's collection.

"The Fast Runner" is unique. How many films have YOU seen that are spoken in the language of the Inuit? Or whose cast is 100% Inuit? OR recount a myth orally passed down within the Inuit community for eons?

I have a hard time believing that this movie runs almost three hours. I felt like I'd just begun to watch it and then - it was over . . . and I continued to sit there and absorb this amazing experience.

There are movies that cost millions upon millions of dollars and feature the biggest stars, yet "The Fast Runner" achieves something most of them can't: an effortless ability to haunt.

Prepare to be stunned by the people, production, locations, music, and power of "The Fast Runner."

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