Atanarjuat (2001)

Director:

Zacharias Kunuk

Writers:

Paul Apak Angilirq (writer)
Norman Cohn (additional writer)

Release Date:

1 February 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

The telling of an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in the community and one warrior's endurance and battle of its menace.

Plot Keywords:

Nude Woman | Native Canadian | Female Nudity | Good Versus Evil | Inuit

Awards:

20 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Natar Ungalaaq	...	Atanarjuat
Sylvia Ivalu	...	Atuat
Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq	...	Oki
Lucy Tulugarjuk	...	Puja
Madeline Ivalu	...	Panikpak
Pauloosie Qulitalik	...	Qulitalik / A shaman (as Paul Qulitalik)
Eugene Ipkarnak	...	Sauri, the chief
Pakak Innuksuk	...	Amaqjuaq (as Pakkak Innushuk)
Neeve Irngaut	...	Uluriaq
Abraham Ulayuruluk	...	Tungajuaq
Apayata Kotierk	...	Kumaglak
Mary Qulitalik	...	Niriuniq
Luke Taqqaugaq	...	Pittiulak
Alex Uttak	...	Pakak
Eric Nutarariaq	...	Young Sauri

Also Known As:

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (Australia) (Canada: English title)
Atanarjuat - La légende de l'homme rapide (Canada: French title)
The Fast Runner
The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity and violence.

Runtime:

172 min | Argentina:174 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Australia:168 min | Finland:172 min (Helsinki International Film Festival) | UK:168 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

Inuktitut

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | France:U | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:10 | Japan:PG-12 | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada

Company:

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network

Trivia:

This is the first film ever released totally in the Inuktitut language.

Quotes:

Atuat: [to Atanarjuat] I hunt you. Your my own wolf.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Weird Sex & Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004) (TV)

Riveting

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.