Fast and Furious in Zero Temperature

ATANARJUAT/THE FAST RUNNER (2002)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Original review from Oct. 2002 - on my list of best films of 2000 decade)

Of all the films I've seen in the last couple of years, the decade of 2000 will hold a special place for "Atanarjuat/The Fast Runner," one of the most extraordinary films I've ever seen, both moving, elegiac, humorous, tragic, exciting and often intense. It is unlike most films that even inspire the typical arthouse audience. In short, I was held by its beauty and its intimate story.

The film begins in the icy region of the Arctic Circle in a place called Igloolik. We enter an igloo where people of the Inuit culture (Eskimos to the rest of you) are sitting around in their homemade beds eating. There is a serenity and a calmness existing in this desolate home, complete with oil lamps since they naturally have no electricity. There is also a competitiveness between Oki (Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq), a bitter fool who often laughs with a high-pitched tone, and Atanarjuat (Natar Ungalaaq), the quiet, observant, non-threatening type. They both vie for the romantic charms of Atuat (Sylvia Ivalu), though Atanarjuat has been promised to marry her by the family. Oki could care less since he sees his future with her, and is willing to fight for her love. This involves a scene that had a couple of audience members laughing hysterically, though I failed to see the humor in it. The two men position themselves in fighting stance, sans clothing, by striking with one punch and then waiting for the opponent to strike back. Oki loses, but that does not stop him from seeking vengeance.

What develops in "The Fast Runner" are myriad incidents that develop slowly and lead to a number of tragedies. Essentially, this as a Shakespearean play in the Arctic Circle with all the requisite jealousies, hate and violence involving the traditional theme of love. But there is more to "The Fast Runner" than tragedy and heartbreak. Director Zacharias Kunuk (who is from Igloolik) has shot the film with a digital video camera so that every shot, every scene, has an authentic immediacy that rivals any Hollywood melodrama or thriller that aims for the same. We never get the feeling that we are watching actors (many of them are in fact professional actors) so that the story enters the realm of documentary. In fact, I could have sworn I was watching a latter-day "Nanook of the North" judging from the opening sequence. Of course, the region itself is indeed real, showing a vastness in its horizontal plane that brings an existential nature to the story and the characters. These are not CGI effects at work here - everything you see on screen is indeed real. And you can really feel the cold and the ice in ways that the Coen Brothers could only dream of in "Fargo."

There is also a chase scene in the film that is as thrilling and scary as any I have seen in recent memory. After a brutal murder in a tent, Atanarjuat, also known as the Fast Runner, flees from the tent as he is chased by the killers. But he is not running on sidewalks in some city - he is running naked and barefoot on ice floes! We feel for the guy, and sense his growing desperation of trying to evade the killers. After a while, the chase goes on and we see that Atanarjuat's feet are wounded leaving traces of blood in his footsteps across the snow. It is harrowing stuff, well-shot and choreographed.

"The Fast Runner" begins very much like a documentary, showing how the Inuit people live. It certainly doesn't look like an easy, comfortable life. They are always wearing heavy fur coats, they are seen chiseling away at the ice structures they make for their igloos, they are seen trying to fish, and there are the strenuous hunting attempts with a pack of wolves on a sled, and so on. A way of life is shown in the first hour or so to establish their living conditions and culture. Some people might get bored with this extended prologue but it is neccessary to establish a mood for what is to come. And the film's themes of murder, love, compassion, forgiveness, and betrayal are as universal as any story - it shows that these people's fears, desires and relationships are not unlike those of similar cultures. The only difference is having to contend with below zero temperatures.

"The Fast Runner" is long, thrilling, fatalistic, extraordinarily moving and exhilarating - it is an epic drama done with attention to detail and character. This is not a fast-paced melodrama with heightened emotions. Instead, it assumes a leisurely pace that matches the setting and the mood. At 170 minutes, "The Fast Runner" has enough guts, drama, action (and, yes, some sex) to make any Hollywood hack director envious. On par with Andrei Tarkovsky's "Andrei Rublev" and Federico Fellini's "8 1/2," it is like visiting another world we have not seen before with universal themes and human emotions everyone can relate to.