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:

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

Oki: What are you all looking at? Haven't you ever seen anyone kick a dog before?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

Fantastic

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."