Inuit legend comes to life

I had almost forgotten why I love movies so much. In a time when remakes, sequels and regurgitations routinely dominate the Hollywood landscape, it's been more than easy to lose sight of the cinematic spirit and the very reasons, I hope, we all go to the movies. As an art form, film has the unique ability to completely transform the world around us, commanding, for those few hours, all of our awareness and emotion. \n"The Fast Runner," the first film ever made in the Inuit language, tells the epic tale of a man, Atanarjuat (Natar Ungalaaq), and his struggle against an evil that has shaken the roots of his nomadic Inuit community. Caught in a bitter conflict of jealousy, deceit and violence with Oki (Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq), the short-fused son of the camp leader, Atanarjuat is forced to flee naked into the Arctic emptiness and begin a struggle for his life and the fate of his people.\nStrikingly "filmed" in the glorious landscape of Canada's Arctic Circle (something only made possible using digital video), "The Fast Runner" is director Zacharias Kunuk's first-ever motion picture, a landmark achievement that has already earned numerous awards (including the Camera d'Or at Cannes). Though it's hard to say enough for the film's dazzlingly simplistic, but no less stunning, imagery, it is certainly the enthralling story and the genuinely talented cast (many of whom are making their screen debut) that turn the "The Fast Runner" into one heck of a mesmerizing experience.\nThough at first it may be difficult to see "The Fast Runner's" grainy video quality as anything but a minor setback, in the end it may very well be one of the movie's most interesting qualities. It's like lending a sense of reality and documentary-like attachment to a legend whose ability to transcend cultures, languages and environments rivals that of Shakespeare or Homer. \nSimply put, "The Fast Runner" is one of the most fulfilling movie experiences I've had in a long time. It really is a treat that Kerasotes has brought this film to Bloomington, an opportunity, I assure you, that should not be missed.