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by Frank Wilkins
The Inuit are a band of nomadic people in the northern regions of Canada above the Arctic Circle. Director Zacharias Kunuk and Igloolik Isuma Productions bring to life an ancient Inuit legend from the turn of the first millennium. Although the legend is spoken in the native Inuit language (the first film ever to do so), The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat) is a wonderful tale brimming with emotions that people from all parts of the world can grasp regardless of locale or culture.

In the Fast Runner, we learn of the legend of Atanarjuat (Natar Ungulaaq) a skilled hunter and his lover, Atuat (Sylvia Ivalu) who loves Atanarjuat but is promised to Oki (Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq) a fellow tribesman with a mile long jealous streak. The bitter rivalry that ensues eventually leads to murder, treachery, revenge and a showdown between Oki and Atanarjuat.

The legend has been handed down from generation to generation for more than a thousand years and I'm sure it's as commonplace to the Inuit as is The Three Little Bears to Americans. But what makes The Fast Runner so instantly captivating is not necessarily the story, but the epic scope of the landscape that is captured by Norman Cohn's cinematography. Cohn's use of the digital camera allows us to soak up the monochromatic vastness of the snow-covered panorama with a crispness and focus of detail that is not achievable with traditional film cameras. The textures and colors of the native garb juxtapose nicely against the stark neutrality of the frozen landscape. We are treated to many extreme close-up shots of the faces of the characters. We see their craggy, weathered skin that is no doubt a by-product of the harshness of the winter climate.

I have a special place in my heart for movies that highlight natural vistas and extreme landscapes. As was the case in 2001's The Shipping News with its harsh and craggy Newfoundland shoreline, The Fast Runner brings to life the environment as a character. The climate actually becomes an active participant in the lives of the people. The Inuit scrap and scrounge for every bit of food, and during the long winter months we see them exist on a diet of primarily meat and seal blubber. We watch them pick the meat from the bones of the uncooked animal. They then use the bones for tools and implements.

It's no wonder that with such lack of leisure activity that a culture's main motivation would come almost entirely from ritualistic customs. The Inuit are true to their heritage and we learn almost as much about them from watching their facial expressions and body movements as we do in reading the dialogue. The movie plays in an almost National Geographic documentary style and it's a bit difficult to follow at first. I spent the first hour or so just trying to learn the characters, and with large time gaps and generation shifts I felt almost helpless. Then the story takes over and the remaining 2 hours glide by like a 6-team dogsled with a spit shine.

The Fast Runner is an engrossing story with a genuine heart and soul. There are many technical flaws and awkward scene shifts, but it is a great film that stays true to the roots of the original legend as it uses a cast and crew made up of almost all actual Inuit people. The film will not appeal to everyone but if you love documentaries about distant cultures and if you love wonderful storytelling, then The Fast Runner may be just for you.

Frank Wilkins

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