Here is one for the history books, Atanarjuat is the first Inuit made motion picture. While it looks primitive, there is something truly haunting and almost prehistoric about it. Atanarjuat, takes us into a world that most of us have never truly understood, expect for the illustrations on ice cream 'eskimo' bars.
Visually, Atanarjuat could be considered a mirror to Kurosawa, but in terms of plot coherency, the film is not so strong. The only part which is strait forward is that we know who the hero is and what some of his character motives are. Aside from that, the plot of Atanarjuat, is very loose, unfocused, and features too many characters which from a non-Inuit perspective, all look and dress alike. This makes things confusing for the first half hour, until we start to recognize who different people are.
What I like about the story is the cultural anthropology lesson I get from it. It's educational. Every now and then comes a scene of little importance to the plot but shows us something neat. For example, the methods used to design drums, tenderize meat, and kindle fire, are something I haven't seen specifically in any other movie. The music is also something worth noting, very strange very beautiful and hard to place. Sometimes, the score sounds like a mix of Buddist chanting, Australia digeridoo, and African drums.
If you can handle a slow movie, Atanarjuat is a film to see, although I can't say I loved it. Not emotionally captivating, but intellectually intriguing.
Visually, Atanarjuat could be considered a mirror to Kurosawa, but in terms of plot coherency, the film is not so strong. The only part which is strait forward is that we know who the hero is and what some of his character motives are. Aside from that, the plot of Atanarjuat, is very loose, unfocused, and features too many characters which from a non-Inuit perspective, all look and dress alike. This makes things confusing for the first half hour, until we start to recognize who different people are.
What I like about the story is the cultural anthropology lesson I get from it. It's educational. Every now and then comes a scene of little importance to the plot but shows us something neat. For example, the methods used to design drums, tenderize meat, and kindle fire, are something I haven't seen specifically in any other movie. The music is also something worth noting, very strange very beautiful and hard to place. Sometimes, the score sounds like a mix of Buddist chanting, Australia digeridoo, and African drums.
If you can handle a slow movie, Atanarjuat is a film to see, although I can't say I loved it. Not emotionally captivating, but intellectually intriguing.