One of my all time favorites.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

In an unspecified land of tundra and ice, a mother and daughter, estranged from their tribes-people, alone and on the run from a brutal hired army, are struggling to survive in this harsh, desolate landscape. Into their lives walks an escaped press-ganged soldier, barely alive, and a tragic chain of events is set in motion.London born film-maker Asif Kapadia knows how to capture isolation. He finds it in the sombre monochrome landscapes of this Arctic tale, and equally in the eyes of his lead actress, Michelle Yeoh. She plays Saiva, a woman who has borne a curse since birth foretelling that she will bring misfortune upon anyone who gets close to her. Forced out of her tribe, she lives nomadically, with only her grown-up daughter for company. Theirs is a never ending routine of hand-to-mouth survival and constant relocation to ever more lonely shores. The films' establishing shots of expansive ice flows are set to a soundtrack of groaning, creaking tension and cracks beneath the surface. Once Sean Bean's on- the-run Soldier arrives to upset the balance of their simple existence, it soon becomes apparent that Saiva shares much in common with the ice pack surrounding her.So effectively does Asif conjure the quiet, contemplative mood and pace of much Scandinavian or Russian cinema that it comes as quite a shock when the main trio of characters open their mouths (which they do only rarely) and talk in English. The point is that it does not matter what language they speak, as the location and even the precise period of this story is kept deliberately vague. Just as it matters not what strange language it is that the other invading soldiers speak to themselves, only that it is not familiar. They are the aliens here.For much of its short running time not a lot seems to be happening here, but there is not a wasted moment or unnecessary scene. Judicious use of flashbacks provide insight into the moments that have forged Saiva's tough and ruthless survival instincts. While in the present, much is communicated in silence by the glances of desire and jealousy that the trio exchange. Sean Bean comfortably inhabits the role of decent but morally weak man, but it's Michelle Yeoh's steely, haunted central performance that grabs and pulls you in. Like some Merchant-Ivory period drama stripped of all its airs and finery, we are in a world of suppressed emotions and mounting tensions. The palpable sense that something has to give is the overriding drive towards the startling climax.

This is a dark slow ride film with minimal dialogue. Hard and brutal life, death, survival, escape from evils of society, clash of tradition and civilization are presented here in a not so violent way, but still mind crashing and a few disturbing scenes that will make some people hate this film.The cinematography is stunning. The arctic landscapes, low light, sounds of wilderness make it worthwhile to watch the film. The main actress Yeoh is perfect, the younger one Krusiec is good too, but Bean wasn't quite inspiring for some reason.If we put aside the fact that we definitely can't be sure where and when exactly this is supposed to have happened (and many of us do have doubts in it being realistic), then it's a lot easier to accept the film's unusual story and dive into it our own way It's a film you can only like or dislike. Shocking, whether in good or bad sense, so suit yourselves.

Having a movie with very little dialogue is a risky proposition. In my opinion, it almost never works. "Far North" is a case in point. This could have been a devastating and disturbing tragedy, but the way it's presented, it's boring and tedious.A woman named Saiva (Michelle Yeoh) lives with her daughter, Anja (Michelle Krusiec) outside of human contact. Because of past experiences, Saiva avoids other people like the plague. Then an outsider, Loki (Sean Bean) comes into their midst, which changes the status quo.The acting is not the problem, nor is the cinematography (which is stunning). Yeoh and Bean are well-known faces (both have been in Bond movies) and are capable actors. But there is little they can do with such limited material. Michelle Krusiec may not be as well known as her co-stars, but she matches them.The problem with the film is that with almost no dialogue, it's too simple, and with the resulting minimal character development, it quickly becomes a sleep-inducer.I will say that the ending is a great twist, but not even that can make up for the 80 minutes of tedium that come before it.

For those of you who missed it, and that appears to be most who posted on here, the film is essentially a allegorical tale (ie a metaphor that appeals to the imagination rather than reason). In this film we are treading the difficult path of archetypes, mixed with shamanism from a pan-cultural Arctic perspective. Savia is the Exile, cursed from birth to bring destruction to those around her, she is also the Witch who once spurned by the fleeing near-dead Adventurer exacts revenge on her Ward by stealing her face to entice and deceive her spurning Lover. In a sense Bean's Loki pays the price for choosing the physical beauty and youth of Krusiec's Anja over gratitude to his Saviour Saiva (who by the way when he asks 'How can I repay you? Savia replies 'We shall see' implying she sees he has the debt of his life owing to her);An interesting addendum to this is that 'Loki' is the Scandinavian Trickster or Fool (much as he appears at the beginning of the film carrying his belongings this time on a sledge). Unlike the wise Fool who pays his debt however he takes the path of the real Fool and spurns the one who saves him. For this both have then to pay the price.Beautifully shot and directed, in lengthening the story it resembles many folk-tales of many cultures.