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The Fast Runner - Atanarjuat (2001)
IMDb Rating 7.5
Front Cover Actor Back Cover
Natar Ungalaq Atanarjuat
Sylvia Ivalu Atuat
Peter Arnatsiaq Oki
Pakkak Innukshuk Amaqjuaq
Natar Ungalaaq Atanarjuat
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
Plot
Atanarjuat the Fast Runner is the first feature film in the Inuktitut language, spoken by the Inuit tribes of northern Canada. The film, based on an ancient Inuit legend, is set at the dawn of the millennium. It's an epic tale of love, betrayal, and revenge, set in motion by an evil force brought to the village of Igloolik by a mysterious shaman. Conceived by the late Paul Apak Angilirq , who co-wrote the screenplay, the film was shot on widescreen digital video by Norman Cohn (one of the few non-Inuit crew members on the shoot) and directed by Zacharias Kunuk . Kunuk and his crew meticulously re-created the conditions the Inuit tribes lived under before exposure to Southern influences, using information handed down from tribe elders and the journals of Captain William Edward Parry, a British explorer who visited the area in 1822. The film tells the story of Atanarjuat ( Natar Ungalaq ), an unassuming young man who falls in love with Atuat ( Sylvia Ivalu ), whose hand has already been promised to the scheming Oki ( Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq ), the son of the tribal chief. Atanarjuat doesn't think he's strong enough to fight Oki, and relies on his older brother, the powerful Amaqjuaq ( Pakkak Innukshuk ), to look out for him. But eventually, the jealous Oki challenges Atanarjuat to a brutal contest for Atuat's hand. Atanarjuat wins, and weds his love, but his problems are far from over. While Atuat is pregnant, Oki's sister, the flirtatious Puja ( Lucy Tulugarjuk ), seduces Atanarjuat and becomes his second wife. She disrupts Atanarjuat's family from within while Oki plans his revenge. Atanarjuat the Fast Runner won the Camera D'Or at Cannes in 2001, and was selected for the 2002 New Directors/New Films Festival at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. — Josh Ralske
Movie Details
Genre Drama; Foreign
Director Zacharias Kunuk
Producer Paul Apak Angilirq; Norman Cohn; Ying Gee Wong
Writer Paul Apak Angilirq; Norman Cohn
Studio Igoolik Isuma Prods.
Country Canada
Language Inuktitut
Audience Rating R
Running Time 172 mins
Movie Release Date 5/13/2001
Color Color
Personal Details
Format DVD
Seen It Yes
Index 218
Collection Status In Collection
Purchase Date 3/20/2004
Product Details
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Layers Single Side, Dual Layer
UPC (Barcode) 043396002357
Chapters 28
Release Date 2004
Subtitles English
Packaging Keep Case
Audio Tracks INUIT: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Extra Features
Theatrical Trailers
Interactive Menus
Scene Selections
Links
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