Atanarjuat 2002

Critics score:
90 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Loren King, Boston Globe: The film is filled with unquestionable grace and power. Read more

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: It may be the most satisfying experience you'll have at the movies this year. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Often, the film feels more like a state of mind, combining the factual hardness of a documentary with the startling beauty of a surreal, fantastic dream. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: It's a spectacular movie ... Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: A landmark movie that becomes a priceless entryway into a distant land and its people, few of whom will ever seem as foreign and far away again. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Not merely an interesting document from a far-off place; it is a masterpiece. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Visually captivating. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: It takes us to a world we've never seen, to tell us a story both entirely foreign and completely familiar. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: This first feature ever in the Inuit language is a demanding experience. But the rewards for those who risk the journey are simply extraordinary. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: A beautiful, timeless and universal tale of heated passions -- jealousy, betrayal, forgiveness and murder. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: By any measure, The Fast Runner is a passionate, remarkable film, a big story told with a respect for its bigness by a filmmaker gifted at incorporating his culture's mysteries into universally appealing art. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: A damn fine and a truly distinctive and a deeply pertinent film. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Few three-hour films manage to be so engaging, or so vast. Read more

Paul Malcolm, L.A. Weekly: The director has fixed this Arctic potboiler, passed down through the ages as part of a rich oral tradition, onto digital video with ... breathtaking punch and such a sweeping sense of immediacy. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: It's creatively authentic, and its creators are also its subject. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: An experience so engrossing it is like being buried in a new environment. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Whatever combination of talent, happy accident and hard work was involved, The Fast Runner is, for all its flaws, an enthralling discovery. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: At nearly three hours long, it's an endurance test. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: One of the most enthralling three hours you'll ever spend at the theater. Read more

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: It's an experience in understanding a unique culture that is presented with universal appeal. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Spectacularly beautiful, not to mention mysterious, sensual, emotionally intense, and replete with virtuoso throat-singing. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: The kind of primal storytelling that George Lucas can only dream of. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: A powerful, absorbing and thoroughly transporting film experience. Read more