Far North: Film #135 of Film 365

Monday 6th February 2012

Director: Asif Kapadia
Year: 2007
Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Krusiec, Sean Bean

This is a film that might take a little patience - commonly known amongst my family as "an Annie film". I.e. one that I will sit and watch, but nobody else has the patience for. In my opinion, this doesn't always make for a bad film - just one that requires some effort. Far North has very little in the way of dialogue, but it does have some beautiful scenery and cinematography to show just how desolate the Arctic can be - and which draws interesting parallels with the characters, their relationships and emotions.

Up until the final ten minutes, I really thought Far North might exceed my expectations and be rather rewarding. It tells the story of Saiva and Anya, two Inuits who live together, but not with a tribe. The film sets itself up as giving a realistic portrayal of these two women and their lives - and then pulls this all away from the viewer in the final ten minutes. The finale can only be described as unexpected - even after this review, you won't see it coming. It makes Far North memorable, but not what I was hoping for.

Rating: 3 out of 5

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About Me

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I live in Bristol with my husband Dan (who I married in July 2007), my son Joe (born 2012) and daughter Jess (born 2015). I work at UWE (the University of the West of England) in Bristol as a Research and Open Access Librarian. I'm orginally from Exeter, so moving back to Bristol is a bit like coming home - especially as I studied for my undergraduate degree here (also at UWE). I love travelling and movies, although I get to do a lot less of both since the birth of our children. Although we have still managed to fit in holidays to the Isles of Scilly, Chamonix and a summer in California since Joe was born.