Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner |
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| Directed by | Zacharias Kunuk |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Paul Apak Angilirq |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Chris Crilly |
| Cinematography | Norman Cohn |
| Editing by |
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| Distributed by | Odeon Films |
| Release date(s) | 13 May 2001 (Cannes premiere) 12 April 2002 (Canada) |
| Running time | 172 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | Inuktitut |
| Budget | CA$1,960,000 (est.) |
| Money made | $5,998,310 |
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (Inuktitut: ᐊᑕᓈᕐᔪᐊᑦ) is a Canadian movie from 2001. It was directed by Zacharias Kunuk, an Inuit filmmaker. His company, Isuma Igloolik Productions, made the film. This movie was special because it was the first full-length film ever made completely in the Inuktitut language.
The story takes place a long, long time ago. It tells an old Inuit legend that has been shared through stories for hundreds of years. The movie is about a character named Atanarjuat. His marriage to two wives makes the son of the camp leader, Oki, very angry. Oki kills Atanarjuat's brother, Amaqjuaq. Atanarjuat then has to run away on foot to save his life.
The film first showed at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2001. It came out in Canada on April 12, 2002. Atanarjuat was a huge success with critics. It won the Caméra d'Or (Golden Camera) at Cannes. It also won six Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture. The movie also did very well at the box office. It was Canada's top-earning film in 2002. In 2015, a group of filmmakers and critics voted it the greatest Canadian film of all time.
Contents
The Story of Atanarjuat
The movie starts in Igloolik, a place in the Eastern Arctic. This is set at the very beginning of the first thousand years. Qulitalik says goodbye to his sister Panikpak. She is married to Kumaglak. Qulitalik promises to come if she ever needs help. Panikpak gives him her husband's rabbit's foot for good luck and power.
In a flashback, a strange shaman named Tungajuaq visits the community. During a spiritual fight with this visitor, the camp leader Kumaglak dies. The visitor takes a walrus-tooth necklace from Kumaglak. He puts it on Kumaglak's son, Sauri. This makes Sauri the new camp leader. Later, the shaman's magic makes the community full of hatred. Tulimaq, who is often made fun of, has trouble hunting. He can barely feed his family. But Panikpak brings meat for Tulimaq's children, Atanarjuat and Amaqjuaq. She hopes they will fix things one day.
Atanarjuat grows up to be a very fast runner. His brother Amaqjuaq is very strong. They are rivals with Sauri and his son Oki. During a game of 'wolf tag', Atanarjuat chases the beautiful Atuat. This makes Oki very jealous. Oki's sister Puja also likes Atanarjuat. Atanarjuat wins a punching contest against Oki. This gives him the right to marry Atuat. Later, Atanarjuat leaves Atuat at a camp to hunt caribou. But he stops at Sauri's camp. There, he is convinced to take Puja on the hunt. Atanarjuat and Puja camp by a lake. They sing and flirt.
Later, Atanarjuat is unhappy with his two wives, Atuat and Puja. He sees his brother with Puja and feels jealous. He hits Puja. She runs to Sauri's camp and says Atanarjuat tried to kill her. So Sauri and Oki decide to kill Atanarjuat. But Panikpak doesn't believe Puja's story. Puja returns to Atanarjuat's camp and says sorry. She is accepted back. One day, the women decide to go find eggs. But first, Puja puts a boot outside the tent where the men are resting. Oki and two friends sneak up. They push their spears through the tent wall. Amaqjuaq is killed. But Oki sees a vision of his grandfather Kumaglak. Atanarjuat, naked and without shoes, bursts out of the tent. He runs for miles across the ice. Oki's group chases him. Atanarjuat escapes by following a vision of Qulitalik. He jumps over a wide crack in the ice. He finally collapses from being so tired, with bloody feet. Qulitalik and his family rescue him. They hide him when Oki arrives, still chasing him.
Back at Igloolik, Sauri won't let Oki have Atuat. But Oki is rude and tries to get close to Atuat. Panikpak comforts Atuat. During a hunt, Oki stabs Sauri. He says it was an accident. Oki then becomes the new camp leader. Panikpak feels in her heart that she needs her brother Qulitalik. She calls for him, just as they agreed years ago. Qulitalik feels her call. He uses magic with the rabbit foot. At Igloolik, Oki catches a rabbit with his bare hands. He eats it and falls under a spell. This spell makes him forget his anger. Qulitalik and his family make the long sled journey back to Igloolik with Atanarjuat. Atanarjuat has healed. Atanarjuat is happy to be reunited with Atuat. But he rejects Puja. Oki, still under the spell, just wants to have a big feast.
But Atanarjuat prepares an ice floor in an igloo. He invites Oki and his brothers inside. He puts antlers on his feet to grip the ice. He then takes control of them. He declares that the killing is over. It is time to face the evil that has hurt the community for so long. Everyone gathers together. Qulitalik calls forth the spirits. The evil shaman Tungajuaq appears, making sounds like a polar bear. Qulitalik faces the shaman with the powerful spirit of the walrus and magic soil. Panikpak shakes the walrus tooth necklace. The shaman is destroyed and disappears. Panikpak tells the group it is time for forgiveness. Oki, Puja, and their friends are forgiven for their bad deeds. But they are sent away from Igloolik forever.
Main Characters
Atanarjuat's Family
- Natar Ungalaaq as Atanarjuat, known as "the fast runner".
- Pakak Innuksuk as Amaqjuaq, "the strong one", Atanarjuat's older brother.
- Neeve Irngaut as Uluriaq, Amaqjuaq's wife.
- Felix Alaralak as Tulimaq, Atanarjuat's father.
- Stephen Qrunnut plays Young Tulimaq.
- Kumaglaq, the young son of Atanarjuat and Atuat. He is named after the old camp leader.
Oki's Family
- Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq as Oki, Atanarjuat's main rival.
- Lucy Tulugarjuk as Puja, Oki's sister, who is a bit spoiled.
- Apayata Kotierk as Kumaglak, the old camp leader.
- Madeline Ivalu as Panikpak, Kumaglak's wife. She is Sauri's mother and Oki and Puja's grandmother. She is also Qulitalik's sister.
- Mary Angutautuk plays Young Panikpak.
- Pauloosie Qulitalik as Qulitalik, Panikpak's brother.
- Charlie Qulitalik plays Young Qulitalik.
- Mary Qulitalik as Niriuniq, Qulitalik's wife.
- Eugene Ipkarnak as Sauri, the camp leader after Kumaglak.
- Eric Nutarariaq plays Young Sauri.
Other Important Characters
- Sylvia Ivalu as Atuat, who Atanarjuat and Oki both want to marry.
- Abraham Ulayuruluk as Tungajuaq, the evil shaman.
- Luke Taqqaugaq as Pittiulak, one of Oki's friends.
- Alex Uttak as Pakak, another of Oki's friends.
Making the Movie
How the Idea Started
The film is set in Igloolik in the Eastern Arctic. This is where the story of Atanarjuat comes from. The names of Atanarjuat and his brother were first written down in the journals of explorer Captain George Francis Lyon. He was part of a British trip to find the Northwest Passage in the 1820s. The Inuit people believe the story of Atanarjuat is more than 500 years old. Scientists agree with this age. They say that Qikiqtaarjuk, a small island where much of the story happens, became connected to Igloolik Island about 500 years ago.
The main parts of the original story are about two brothers. They are betrayed by their wives. Their rivals try to attack them. The fast runner escapes across the ice, naked and barefoot. After he is saved and gets better, he sets up his own trap. He then kills his rivals. This movie was the first film script written in Inuktitut. It became the first full-length movie in the Inuktitut language.
Writer Paul Apak Angilirq and director Zacharias Kunuk had heard the Atanarjuat legend since they were young. For five years, Angilirq talked to seven elders. He asked them for their versions of the story. He then put all their stories together into one script idea. The final script was created by Angilirq, Norman Cohn (who produced the film and was the camera person), Kunuk, Herve Paniaq (an elder), and Pauloosie Qulitalik. Sadly, Angilirq died from cancer in 1998 while the film was being made.
The movie tried to be very accurate to the old stories. However, the film changed the original Inuit myth in one big way. In the original legend, Atanarjuat got revenge by killing his rivals. But in the movie, Atanarjuat stops before anyone else is killed. Director Zacharias Kunuk felt this was "a message more fitting for our times." He agreed that this change likely came from the idea of forgiveness in Christianity, which has influenced modern Inuit.
Isuma, the film company, asked Telefilm Canada for money in 1998. They planned to start filming in Igloolik, Nunavut, in April. April is usually the only time in Northern Canada when cameras can film winter scenes without breaking from the cold. Kunuk found that Telefilm and the Canadian government did not offer much money. They gave more money to English and French movies. They would not give more than $100,000 for a movie in an Aboriginal language. This would make Atanarjuat impossible to make. Kunuk felt this was unfair.
Because of the funding problems, Isuma asked the National Film Board of Canada for help. They were successful. The NFB usually made documentaries, not fiction movies. But Isuma argued that telling an Inuit myth was like making a documentary film. The budget for the movie was approved at $1.96 million.
Filming the Movie
It was very important for the movie to be historically accurate. To do this, the filmmakers researched old journals from European explorers. These journals helped them recreate clothes and customs. They also talked to elders in the community. Paul Apak Angilirq said that they asked elders about old ways, religion, and things people no longer remembered. The elders helped them write down what people would have said and done in the past. They made sure the dialogue sounded like real Inuktitut from long ago.
Most of the film crew, about 90%, were Inuit. Filming started in 1999. They filmed from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. because the sun was always up. Norman Cohn used natural light for filming with his digital camera. He avoided changing the camera settings. Making the film brought more than $1.5 million into the local economy of Igloolik. It also gave jobs to about 60 people. Since Igloolik is a small place, everyone knew at least one person working on the movie.
Kunuk explained how they filmed: "Everything was different—the way we traveled, the way we camped. It was just like when we go out today, spring camping, putting up canvas tents and moving from here to there. We would go fifty miles out into the country where there were no roads, nothing. Like the land was from the time it was created. There would be fifteen tents and eighty people, all the kids running around, just waiting for a perfect day. When we had a perfect day, the actors put on their make-up and costumes, and we went onto the site where we wanted to shoot." The crew would get the actors ready. But sometimes, they had to wait four hours for the perfect weather. Kunuk said this needed the kind of patience that Inuit hunters have.
Movie Release
The movie first showed at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2001. It was also shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2001.
It was released in Canada on April 12, 2002. The company Alliance Atlantis and its partner, Odeon Films, were the only ones who wanted to distribute it. The film had already been playing in France for seven weeks on many screens. The movie opened in New York City on June 7, 2002.
Images for kids
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The official movie poster for Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner.
