Atanarjuat (Die Legende vom schnellen Läufer)

A remarkable three-hour epic from the Canadian ice desert: Inuit Zacharias Kunuk's film adaptation of an ancient legend of his people is free of the exoticism of earlier Arctic dramas, even such essential works as Nanook of the North and The Savage Innocents. It is a truly indigenous film that negotiates its culture on its own terms. The mythical elements are universal—a story of jealousy and adultery, murder and revenge, epic flight across the ice, and ultimately justice. However, Kunuk presents them entirely in terms of the needs and struggle for survival of a particular community and its way of life. Even though Atanarjuat is set “on the morning of the first millennium,” its power is that of timelessness. The archetypal resonance is reinforced by the archaic living conditions, captured with surprising impressiveness using digital video. (C.H.)