Strictly average movie

Crappy film

Awesome Movie

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It tells a legend from the two thousand years ago, about Atanarjuat, who incurs the jealous enmity of Oki when he marries Atuat… Oki kills Atanarjuat's brother, but Atanarjuat escapes in a stunning sequence, running naked across the ice floes, outstripping his pursuers until, his feet torn and bloody, he is taken in by a friendly sorcerer… The motion picture concedes nothing in the way of authenticity, with sequences that show in realistic detail the training of sled-dogs, cutting up animal carcasses or making an igloo… But the convincing ethnographic elements only serve to intensify the compelling story and characters, which take on a truly epic dimension… If the purpose of a national cinema is to represent the culture of the peoples it belongs to, then "Atanarjuat" achieves this victoriously, both the content of the film and the manner of its telling being wholly specific to Canada, yet in the process achieving a universal appeal

Welcome to my top 20 of all time best movies Atanar Juat. Here's a picture that will leave no one untouched. It tells the story of two Eskimo brothers, Atanar and Amaqjuaq, who learned to look out for each other all the time. When Atanar falls in love with Atuat, who was supposed to marry Oki, things start to get hot around the tribe's residence and the two of them have a traditional fight to decide who will be her future husband. Some years later, Atanar passes Oki's tribe as a married man and future father. The local family suggests he takes another woman along on his journey, Oki's sister Puja (with the Eskimo's a man is allowed to marry two women). The two of them get along fine and Atanar decides to marry her too. But then a family problem rises when Atanar catches his older brother doing it with his second wife. At first Puja's stay with the others is unwanted so she runs back to her family in tears and tells them about this incident. When Oki hears about this he becomes furious and decides to kill Atanar and his brother.Great acting and a splendid insight into Inuit traditions and moral values regarding life and death, love and hate. Do yourself a favour and get this one!

This is a beautiful example of passionate film-making, and mesmerizes from the beginning. As an American, I was COMPLETELY ignorant of the Inuit, and decided to rent this film mostly due to word of mouth. Stick it out through the first half hour: getting past the difficult names does take some effort. But it's awesomely rewarded by the next two hours. The landscape will take your breath away, and the story will hold you captive. Underneath the sheer artistry, closely examine the fight against "evil-spirits:" it's even relevant to today's struggle against the so-called powerful. What struck me particularly was how naturally the characters understood the razor-thin balance between life and starvation.Simply put, I was breathless after seeing this film.I could recommend this film on the cinematography alone. Adding in the screen writing, acting, and the simply groundbreaking aspect of Inuit film-making, you cannot put off seeing this film.

Very entertaining film. Not the greatest technical masterpiece of film-making, but after a while, I actually started to like the effect of the digital camera. In a way, it felt more real, like I was watching home movies... of Inuits 500 years ago... or 1000 years ago... or maybe yesterday. That's probably the biggest strength of this film, complete and utter authenticity. Plus, it isn't tainted by all the postmodernist hokum that would have gotten shoveled into it if some New York art film auteur had done it. The film has no fear of showing real, politically incorrect Inuit life. Vegans beware! I suspect from the comments I've read that it works a little better on the small screen than the big screen because of the recording medium. Yeah, it's long and a little confusing in the beginning, but, dang, I was hoping for another hour by the end of it. Complex, engaging characters, too, and a compelling, universal story.