We are all used to the Ancient Greek tragedies like "Oedipus", the main idea of which is the inevitability of fate, and the main moral lesson is to meet this destiny looking it boldly in the eye and stoically doing what one still feels morally right to do. So here we've a got an inuit variation of the theme – Saiva is doomed at the moment she was born. The shaman proclaims she will bring only death and disaster to everyone she comes in contact with. Raised in isolation from people, Saiva survives and defies fate. She tries to love (though the love affair ends tragically not of her own fault), she tries to raise another doomed child though not her own, she saves a man from freezing to death. The man's name is Loki, and, like his Norse namesake, a trickster he turns out to be. When the everyday routine crumbles around Saiva, she desperately longs to change her fate, to exchange it with another person. She actually tries on Anja's skin and life. To no avail. Fate cannot be fooled. Saiva is cursed and alone, demons of anger, jealousy, remorse eating her heart up, the trickster is gone never to return. The stranger will freeze to death, as he was destined to, Anja dead, the way she was meant to be about 20 years ago. Life resumes its unchangeable course, one can almost hear the icy cold, cruel laugh of the gods. Great camera work. The North as shown in the film is truly majestic and absolutely indifferent to the life of people. Eternal, cruel, beautiful, a true mystery. On the whole, I would say it's an underestimated film.
A really good story, spoiled only by the Hollywood curse of filling "bad Russians" in every hole. It's inconceivable how Russian soldiers should be wearing Nazi German uniform and tabs. Or are bad Russians a must to sell a film in the US?
A really good story, spoiled only by the Hollywood curse of filling "bad Russians" in every hole. It's inconceivable how Russian soldiers should be wearing Nazi German uniform and tabs. Or are bad Russians a must to sell a film in the US?