Customer Reviews

Far North

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Sure I get knocked for my liking of Sean Bean, but he wasn't the only reason for my purchase of Far North. This beautiful, yet creepy and tragic 2007 film based on a story from Sara Maitland's collection Far North and Other Dark Tales will have you awing and grimacing at the screen.

Saiva (Michelle Yeoh) was cursed as a child and cast from her village. Once she finds happiness with a neighboring tribe, tragedy follows her again. She rescues Anja (Michelle Krusiec) and raises her into the ravages of the artic, away from society and all its evils. One day, however, Saiva helps Loki (Sean Bean), a freezing soldier lost in the artic wilderness. Saiva warns Anja not to be charmed by the first man she's met. Both women, however, fall for Loki, and disaster follows.

Folks who've read my reviews know I don't like to spoil a film experience, but where Far North is concerned, I really can't tell you anything else about the story. My husband thought the obvious of oft villain Sean Bean (Patriot Games, Goldeneye), "He kills them, right?" I countered with, "No, they have threeways." Both are plausible scenarios to the modern viewer, but the things you expect most in Far North aren't the things that happen. BAFTA winning director Asif Kapadia (The Return) and co screenwriter Tim Miller (The Warrior) have taken Maitland's tiny story and stretched into a philosophical and disturbing little statement. The film rises and falls upon Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Tomorrow Never Dies) and she is up to the task as the tormented Saiva. Some of the flashbacks trying to make her look younger seem out of place, but Yeoh's silent looks and stilted dialogue are perfection. It's a shame most Americans don't get to see most of her work; I've enjoyed every film in which I've seen Yeoh. She can act. We believe Saiva is a tough woman who can brave this horrid landscape, and yet we know she is capable of compassion. There isn't a lot of dialogue among the three leads, Far North feels more like a play. Camera angles and expressions sell the story, and when words are spoken, they are forceful and take on more than face value meanings. Newcomer Michelle Krusiec (Dirty Sexy Money) steps up to the plate as Anja. She's young, disenchanted with this rugged lifestyle. Anja's been aged by the artic yet is still very young and juvenile in comparison with the outside word. And of course there's Sean Bean. I often wish he had more to do in some of his smaller roles, (NBC's recent Crusoe especially) but here, Sean Bean gives us just enough to like Loki, wonder about him, and question his feelings towards both ladies.

Despite fine performances all around, the incredible artic location is what makes Far North. The ice, cold water, white snow; Norway is the picture of beauty and the face of danger. Hypothermia, jagged rock cliffs, falling ice; Any number of natural disasters-or the viles of people-could harm you and there's no escape, no help for hundred of miles. I wouldn't say it is as exceptional as Platoon, but Far North reminds me of Oliver Stone's Oscar winning Vietnam Epic. It's so visually horrifying and disturbing that you don't really want to watch it again, but you can't look away either. Folks who are sensitive to animal plights might want to skip a few scenes in Far North. Seeing women kill dogs and seals is very upsetting to a lot of people, but we must remember in the arctic, this is a way of life.

As realistic as Far North's unforgiving locations are-and the behind the scenes documentary on the DVD tells us exactly how difficult it was for the cast and crew-there's also something very ambiguous about the story. It's only ninety minutes, but it seems longer, and has a very questionable but not unsatisfying ending. Far North reads like a fable; a tale told to children warning of consequences and humanity. Loki is the Norse God of mischief. Is he even real? In this far away place at the edge of the world, has Saiva somehow crossed to another realm? One is not even sure when Far North actually takes place. Russian soldiers are persecuting native tribes, but is their presence meant to be taken as an historical marker or are they representative of the evils of society?

Not that he is a particularly glamorous actor, but Sean Bean plays perhaps his least pretty role here. He's hypothermic and bundled up for most of the film, and when he strips down, it's not his usual action hero form. Sharpe fans and Sean Bean Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ladies will joke that it's that because Sean Bean has entered these women's lives that causes all the trouble. But it's more than that. It's the mere fact that a man, such a mysterious man, any man really could cause such catastrophe for these two women. Even if you don't know about the shape shifting promiscuous Norse Loki, Far North doesn't give easy answers. On my first viewing, I was so horrified by Far North, I didn't even realize Sean Bean was in the buff. In the Artic? I was too busy screaming at the television screen. It's not something I normally do, and after my father heard me, I sent him into a viewing of Far North cold turkey. His verdict? "Horrible film. I liked it!"

Unfortunately, not a lot of people have seen Far North. It's done well in the festival circuit, and even the making of documentary had garnered accolades, but Far North has yet to see even a limited release or theater distribution. The DVD is available online, and Far North even opened the first annual Philadelphia Asian-American Film Festival. Far North is not exclusively an ethnic film, nor am I certain it is merely an art house picture as its history would seem. Is Far North a horror movie? Quite possibly. It definitely gave me the chills and had me screaming. When was the last time a real horror film did that?

FAR NORTH is a bleak, disturbing story about isolation, relationships and revenge. Director Asif Kapadia adapted this minimal dialogue screenplay with Tim Miller based on the story 'True North' by Sara Maitland, and even with the strong trio of actors, have managed to maintain the main character as the vast, natural, incomprehensibly difficult ice seas of the northern cap of the globe. The film is as majestically beautiful as the story is terrifying.

Saiva (Michelle Yeoh) was pronounced evil by a shaman who witnessed her birth: any person who comes near her will fall to harm. Cast out from her tribe, Saiva has survived into adulthood accompanied by the young girl Anja (Michelle Krusiec) she has raised, living a simple existence in tents, dependent on any available food, and always in hiding from a strange pursuing army of soldiers: flashbacks show how Saiva had been physically abused by this strange band of wandering men. When danger approaches, the two women simply move on. Saiva finds an injured and starving soldier Yoki (Sean Bean) who is likewise escaping from the marauding band, and brings him into her tent, nursing him to health, exchanging signs of friendship to a stranger that seems so natural yet so foreign to guarded Saiva. As Yoki recovers, Anja's curiosity about love and men is heightened and soon Anja and Yoki are planning to strike out on their own. When Saiva witnesses the passion between the two people in her life, she reacts as a threatened animal and the horrors that follow echo across the frozen ice of her isolated life.

Michelle Yeoh is astonishingly fine in this difficult role and Krusiec and Bean provide solid ensemble support. Praise must go to Asif Kapadia for his tense direction of this thriller, but kudos are also in order for the extraordinary cinematography by Roman Osin and the appropriately eerie musical score by Dario Marianelli. Much of what happens in this film is shocking to the viewer's senses, but it so in keeping with the animal responses in nature that it says much about our concept of 'civilization'. FAR NORTH is a remarkable achievement. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, October 08

The '07 film `Far North' is a brutal tale of misdirected romance and passion as played out between two nomadic women and a male intruder found near death on the arctic tundra. Saiva (Michelle Yeoh) and Anja (Michelle Krusiec) have lived alone and isolated in the frozen far north for almost twenty years. Now Loki (Sean Bean) has entered into their world his presence stirs up emotions in the female camp that is slowly but surely turning their loving familial relationship into a bitter rivalry. Will Loki leave as planned when the sea is frozen and if he does will he leave alone or accompanied?

`Far North' is a difficult film to rate. I love the cast, the cinematography is breathtaking and the soundtrack haunting. The sound of one solitary cello accompanied by the sound of the wind is both comforting and haunting. However the storyline unfolds slowly, the dialogue is terse at best and much of the interaction between the trio of characters takes place within the confines of a tent enclosure making the visuals dark, murky and at times indiscernible. It's hard to recommend this one, I trust you to make the call on your own.

My Rating: -3 1/2 Stars-.

A story of utter misfortune, loss, and jealousy, FAR NORTH is a stark drama of three people; Saiva(Michelle Yeoh), a woman from a far northern tribe, an outcast from her people; Anja(Michelle Krusiec), a young woman whom she rescued as an infant from a village attack by raiders; and Loki(Sean Bean), a soldier who happens upon them in their remote camp. Saiva has always been more than wary of strangers, and saves Loki from exposure against her own better judgment. Anja, much younger, predictably develops an attachment to Loki. Saiva has never allowed contact with anyone, and Loki is the first man Anja has ever encountered, and nature will not be denied. Saiva's own story, a sad one, impels her to stand aside and let Anja explore her new feelings, but the sense of foreboding increases with every frame of the movie. An arrangement such as this, two women and one man, is never a setup for a happy ending. I chanced upon this movie and must admit to being drawn to anything to do with rugged terrain; you can nearly see your breath while you watch this movie, which is beautifully filmed in a violently cold and barren land. The acting is impeccable, and the sparse score, by Dario Marianelli, eloquent in its limited use. Directed by Asif Kapadia.

FAR NORTH is folktale inhabited and told in film. And like old tales generally, the characters/motivations have an archetypical starkness to them and the plot a kind of inexorable tragedy, but (unlike the Maitland short story 'True North' on which it's based) the movie isn't so self-consciously Folklore that it can't be viewed literally, as about three people in the arctic north -- and as the realistic performances of the actors encourage. But still, the oral tradition roots of the story are definitely preserved.

Notable is the Loki/wolf motif that the screenplay adds to the original story. Loki is the Norse (the movie seems to place this in Russia and Scandinavia is nextdoor) trickster god of dissension and indeed the happenstance entry of the outsider Loki (played by Bean) into the lives of Saiva (Yeoh, in a subtle performance of iron will and pain) and Anja (Krusiec) profoundly disrupts their isolated, close harmony -- and ultimately fulfills the curse on Saiva in a very dark and disturbing way. Also watch for the Loki/wolf motif in another soldier's dogtags in a flashback that Saiva has. I did wish, though, that the sealskin motif in the Maitland story were more emphasized.

It's a grim tale, set against the desolation and expanse of transparent blue icescapes and shadowy, enclosed tent interiors -- both of which capture the foreboding mood. Beautifully shot, too, and realized pretty carefully.

I rented this film because I liked Michelle Yeoh and Sean Bean as actors. I also love the Arctic and thought it would make a great backstory for a film. I didn't even mind the fact that in the beginning, the film was extremely slow with limited dialogue. The acting seemed intense and the landscape beautiful. I thought it would at least come to an interesting climax.

Boy was I wrong. This was one of those movies so disturbing, so unsettling that I regret having watched it. I can't make clear my uneasiness with the film without revealing the ending, so if you want the suspense, don't read on. If you want to steel yourself before a really grisly moment, read on.

[alert: spoiler below]

Basically, Sean Bean, playing a mysterious soldier, turns up in Michelle Yeoh and Michelle Krusiec's yurt and seeks shelter from the winter. Soon, the two women, who had previously been living alone, fall head over heels for him. However, Bean, being a typical guy, prefers Krusiec, the younger of the two. This drives the emotionally-deprived Yeoh into a fit of revenge. In order to try to win over Bean, she kills Krusiec, cuts off her face, and pastes it on herself so she looks like the younger woman (yes, you read that right - she gave herself a face transplant by killing her adopted daughter). Oddly enough, Bean falls for this until midway during sex, when he gets freaked out by the wrinkled face and leaves the yurt naked into the freezing winter.

Not only will the film probably give my wife nightmares, but it just seemed pointless and needlessly extreme. I could understand if Yeoh killed her daughter out of jealousy, but to try to cut off her face and pretend that she's younger? Did she really think she could get away with that? What is the point of watching that type of movie?

If you like suspense/horror type movies, this might work for you. However, don't get fooled into thinking - as I did - that it's simply a drama/love story based in the Arctic.

I've been a movie buff for many years, witnessed a lot of great films and some not so great. Well when you read critic reviews its usually a lot of touch and go with how the picture fairs. Lots of times they are right on the money and other times i have saw films they hated and ended up loving it myself. Well i figured since this scored very high(an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes), that i would give it a try. It started out slow, so i thought well so did No Country For old Men but then the pace lifted here and there and was just an unforgettable film. This movie just dragged along like someone struggling to crawl off the road after being struck be a vehicle. Also it just became so boring to watch it was painful. The scenery is nothing short of beautiful, but the story is just lame, and the dialogue(which i could put every single word in this review, and still have lots of space to write) was just horrible. I really like Sean Bean which is the main reason i tried to watch it.

The only thing you know is that the main character who's name is barely established stumbles onto Sean Bean as he drags his way through the frozen tundra and collapses. As she (somehow) manages to get him back to there camp the only things they say are(How can i repay you? Bring us some Reindeer we are hungry, and here you try) along with a few other short sentences here and there. Now i'm no Brad Pitt myself and neither is Sean Bean but eventually he sleeps with the younger girl, whom he could be a father to. And the older lady just lays oddly by while they make love next to her, and she's really jealous. So basically he's in one of the most desolate places on Earth and comes across 2 gorgeous Eskimo Indian women and scores big time. Ok i live in a town of 30,000 and can hardly ever even get a date, i think i'll go to the desert and hope to stumble onto a few beautiful Mexican girls myself. But all joking aside this movie is just plain flat out boring. And even all the remembering sequences, the few soldiers who are never explained, and the hunting scenes just can culminate together to form anything but a big mess of plotlessness, even though thats not a word thats all i can come up with.

So i'll remember next time i read reviews when critics like something, to take it with a grain of salt and not jump the gun. Much like the horrible Lost In Translation this movie just makes you feel like sleeping. I think this going straight to DVD was for a reason, no wonder i had never heard of it. 2 stars for the beautiful scenery, but then again i've also seen IT all before as well. This flopper probably cost about 1000 dollars to make. And here i thought Dances with Wolves was boring. Also even the cutting off of the adopted daughters face couldnt make this movie appealing. It was just stupid and pointless, and the woman still never ever talks during her vengeance towards the young girl, just goes to have sex and Sean Bean freaks. Come on, this must be Silence of the Lames!!

If you are into Hitchcock, you'll like this movie from all the "parts"...eerie music, awesome scenery and tragic (or twisted) screenplay. The actors were great. Yeoh as the troubled mother figure. Kapadia as the daughter figure. Bean as the interloper, trickster and drum beat of the screenplay.

I liked this movie immensely for the visual context of isolation. Having experienced the sub-arctic seasons of North America as well as the summer arctic of Scandinavia, I felt the desolation that the movie portrayed. Yeoh's "trouble" starts with her cursed birth in Eastern Lappland. Gorgeous portrayal of a lonely woman looking for companionship, only to have her lover killed, then she be abused and then rescuing a child, to escape to the tundra and beyond. Bean, as the Loki/trickster figure comes between the mother and daughter. This is where tragedy ensues. And I screamed at the ending, too.

While I have not read any story like this in Norse, Native American or Inuit mythology, this story would fit into these mythos. I could not put my finger on a lesson to be learned, but I'm sure one is hidden there.

Watch the movie.

Described in one word? Eerie. This excellent film ended with a total unexpected climax that was both eerie and chilling. Outstanding cinamatography and brutal visual splendor lend to this compelling story that ended with a twist that is unexpected.

This movie was very visually stunning, and well acted to boot. I don't want to give spoilers, but the interaction of the main characters leads to a powerful finish. I highly recommend this movie!