Far North–A Grisly Epic on the Arctic Tundra
Michelle Yeoh and Sean Bean Mush their Way through this Wintry Drama
Apr 16, 2009
Based on a short story by Sarah Maitland and directed by Asif Kapadia, the film revolves around the isolated lives of two women, Saiva (Yeoh) and the younger Anja (Michelle Krusiec) who struggle to survive in a desolate polar landscape. Shot in the arctic regions of Norway, the scenery and cinematography are stunning and might have been sufficient to compensate if the plot and characters offered a more complex and engaging narrative.
Michelle Yeoh and Michelle Krusiec Are Outcasts in the Arctic
Guided by mother-figure Saiva, the two women lead a nomadic existence. Their life is harsh and self-sufficient as they forage and hunt across the arctic tundra. Dialogue between the two is sparse but their relationship is fond and companionable. All contact with others is shunned.
The sameness of dress and landscape, and Saiva’s continuing youthful looks make transitions of time and place confusing; however through flashbacks, we learn of the tragedy behind Saiva’s mistrust of others and her adoption of the infant Anja. To add flavour there is a shamanic curse in the background that has caused Saiva to be outcast from her tribe, but we don’t learn of the reason for the hex and this plotline lacks authenticity.
The Intrusion of a Man Threatens the Relationship between Saiva and Anja
Out hunting one day, Saiva comes upon the wounded and exhausted Loki (Sean Bean). Instead of following her first instinct to leave him to die in the snow, and ignoring the advice she had given Anja to slit the throats of all strangers, she hauls him home where she and Anja nurse him back to health. Loki’s ruggedly masculine presence in their bivouac upsets Saiva’s and Anja’s previously loving relationship and the two women vie for his attention. It’s unclear whether Saiva is jealous of the growing affection between Loki and Anja because she is afraid of losing her ‘adopted’ daughter, or because she wants Loki for herself.
A Shocking and Powerfully Disturbing Climax
There are other jarring inconsistencies, not least the youthfully glowing complexion of Saiva whose whole life has supposedly been spent exposed to the harsh polar climate. When Loki appears on the scene these two women who had hunted, fished and foraged quite capably for years, are suddenly incapable of pull-starting the motor on a boat or taking up a rifle to shoot their own game.
Saiva’s macabre solution to the dilemma brought about by Loki’s intrusion is at once shocking and powerfully disturbing, but the legitimacy of the climax requires too great a suspension of disbelief. The scenery and cinematography in this film are breathtaking but they come at the expense of too-thin characterization and a story that lacks real depth. In the end watching Far North was a profoundly unsatisfying experience.
Far North (2007), The Bureau; Direction and Screenplay Asif Kapadia; Writer Sarah Maitland.
