The Fast Runner (Atanarjaut)
From NativeWiki
Atanarjaut is a 2001 Canadian film directed by Zacharias Kunuk. The film is set
in the Eastern Arctic wilderness at the dawn of the first millennium. A shaman places
an evil curse on an already divided community, influencing the characters in the film
to betrayal and murder. When the shaman arrives, it is explained that “Evil came to
us like Death. It just happened and we had to live with it." The battle between good
and evil begins when the main character, Atanarjaut, and Oki rival throughout. This evil
spirit sent by the shaman encompasses Oki, the son of the camp’s leader. Oki and Atanarjaut
become arch rivals, as Atanarjaut sees the corruption encompassing Oki’s ways.
The conflict reaches its climax when an indiscretion on Atanarjaut’s brother- Amaqjuaq's
part sparks an act of murderous vengeance that leaves Amaqjuaq dead and Atanarjaut fleeing
naked into the wilderness to face certain death by exposure. Yet for all these events the curse
has caused, Atanarjaut soon learns that there are forces that are coming to help him. However,
he must also make fateful decisions that will determine the fate of him and his people.
Atanarjaut was the first feature film ever to be written, directed, and cast entirely in the
language of Canada’s Inuit people, Inuktitut and is an insightful adaptation of a very
different way of life. The films vivid detail grants viewers knowledge of living experience
that stretches very far from the western mindset.
Atanarjaut. Dir. Zacharias Kunuk. Lot 47 Films, Inc. 2002.
