Far North (film)

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Movie
German title Far North
Original title Far North
Country of production France , Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 2007
length 86 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Asif Kapadia
script Asif Kapadia
Tim Miller
production Bertrand Faivre
music Dario Marianelli
camera Roman Osin
cut Ewa J. Lind
occupation

Far North is a British-French feature film directed by and screenwriter Asif Kapadia based on the short story True North by Sara Maitland . The main roles were played by Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Krusiec and Sean Bean.

action

The film begins with the words of the protagonist Saiva:

“When I was born, the shaman looked me in the face and had a vision. He said I was cursed. My mother was advised to abandon me. But she refused. She lived some distance from the herds while she was raising me. As soon as I came of age, I was evicted by the elders. The shaman said I would bring harm to anyone who was stupid enough to offend me. "

The Inuit Saiva lives in the arctic tundra . She is taken in by a community of reindeer herders and falls in love with a young man. One day the community's village is attacked by Russian soldiers, and her husband is cruelly killed in front of Saiva's eyes. She herself is raped and the residents are murdered. Another survivor is only Anja, a baby that Saiva takes and raises. Since then, Saiva and Anja have been roaming the wilderness away from civilization.

Years later, Anja is an adult, Saiva finds a stranger, half-dead man in the ice desert. The deeply suspicious Saiva decides to take the man with her and nurses him to health with Anja. The two women vie for the favor of the deserter Loki. Ultimately, Loki and Anja find each other. The two decide to return to civilization together. But this does not occur. When Loki is not in the bivouac , Saiva kills her foster daughter Anja out of jealousy and sheer desperation, removes the skin of the young woman's face and puts it on as a mask. When Loki returns, Loki does not initially realize that it is Saiva. Only when he caresses his supposed lover in bed does he discover the gruesome truth and flee naked into the arctic night.

The film ends here.

Reviews

“Far North doesn't leave you indifferent: the story of trust and betrayal initially seems to take place in a distant, archaic past. But in the form of a motorboat, guns and an old radio, modern technology has also found its way into the distant expanses of this arctic ice desert. The brilliantly photographed epic cannot be precisely located either chronologically or geographically. Rather, it is a timeless interpretation of the icy snow desert as the icy cold of human civilization: the absence of any interpersonal feelings and the madness of loneliness. Michelle Yeoh as Saiva, Michelle Krusiec as Anja and Sean Bean as Loki manage to bring their roles to life without many words. The trio, completely on their own, steers inexorably towards doom. (Human) nature in all its terrible beauty shows its true colors. "

“Far North is full of beautiful pictures. The camera flies over pack ice, a herd of reindeer runs across the screen from the right, sled dogs cuddle up for the bitterly cold night. The landscape shots in the film are so impressive, it almost seems as if you don't want to disturb the conscious cool mood with too many words. That is why lonely tears roll down the cheek during the sad scenes or a shaman threatens his tambourine when resentment and adversity threaten. That must be enough as a narrative method. There is no more straightforward way to use film language - although simple as a term is unfortunately a bit close to stupid. "

Remarks

The film screened at various film festivals before it was released on DVD in the USA in 2008. The outdoor shots were shot in Norway on Svalbard and in the Tromsø area. Not only because of the gruesome final scene, this film is subject to an age limit from 16 years.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ellen Große: Film Review
  2. ^ Roland Meier: Film review on outnow.ch

Web links