Deliberate and at times alienating pace and unconventional narrative structure would probably make this something of an endurance test fot those unwilling to be drawn into the stark depiction of Inuit social conventions. Rather wan looking transfer from high speed video works a bit against the "visual splendor" aspect, and the rather choppy habit of jumping over long periods of time without explanatory titles could slow down an audience's ability to warm up to natural integrity of the cast's performances...and some refreshingly vital humor in the subtitled dialogue. Still if you can get past the rather unneccesary opening scenes and get involved in the central plot of two brothers and the faithless woman who rocks their existences you might find yourself unexpectedly transported to a very alien...but amazingly familiar world of desire, jealousy, and betrayal. The film's central conceit of the hero making a nude run across the ice is striking...but the real heart of the film is the naked unfiltered humanity of the characters and the film's ability to take us into their world.
