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Far North
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List Price: $27.98
Our Price: $24.99
Your Save: $ 2.99 ( 11% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Starring: Sean Bean, Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Krusiec
Directed By: Asif Kapadia
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0014381499520
Format: AC-3
Label: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Manufacturer: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-09-23
Running Time: 89
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
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Editorial Reviews:
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Michelle Yeoh, Sean Bean and Michelle Krusiec star in this chilling epic thriller about the battle for survival, unexpected passion and the temptation of revenge. Haunted by a violent past, Saiva (Yeoh) and Anja (Krusiec) share an isolated, brutal existence in the desolate Arctic tundra. When Loki (Bean), a wounded stranger, enters their lives, a romance quickly develops, and the betrayal that follows leads to consequences as shocking as they are bloody.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: a macabre winter's tale
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Concerto for Trio and Arctic Tundra
Comment: 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
Customer Rating:
Summary: A film hard to forget
Comment: This is a most remarkable film, both the photography, the music score and the acting. Two thumbs up for both Michelle. The ending is disturbing but understandable.
Recommended for those who love watching films about deep emotions.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Frigid, desolate and reminiscent of better work...
Comment: The filming locations of Norway/Arctic Tundra intrigued me as did the chance for Sean Bean to try something alternative and rife with that role you benchmark his success by. And once again, I was drawn into the desolation captured by the cinematographer coupled with the eerie music score. Even the believable performances of the two female leads made for a promise of passionate and possibly memorable performances. Oops.
The unnamed military conflict occurring and the anonymous social structure buries any meaning as to why these people are living the way they are and who it is they hide from. Once the triumvirate of characters (2 women, one man) plays out, the relationships never seem to realistically take hold. I always disclaim to my customers if a film contains a rape scene and/or violent defilement towards women, and/or execution of a friendly dog, and this mess contains all of it. And all of it ends up meaning nothing in the end, except depressing tragedy and meaningless relationships. The extent that one of our characters goes to in claiming her sexual need is disgusting and misplaced, but here it is.
I might recommend this for those feeling bereft of emotions or having that man-hating revenge streak I see some ladies feeling on certain nights, otherwise it gets some stars for the incredible scenery alone. Cuckoo is 100x better for this kind of desolation/relationship style film - I highly recommend that wonderful film over this.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Cold life
Comment: 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.
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