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To paraphrase an old sexual totem, it’s
not the length that counts, it’s the content. Additionally,
if something is too long, it begins to cause pain and discomfort,
not enjoyment, no matter how good the content is (or so I’m
told). This saucy rule can be applied to the world of film
in general and to the movie The Fast Runner specifically.
The Fast Runner is the new film from director
Zacharias Kunuk, the hottest new filmmaker on the Inuit
scene. Okay, truthfully, he is the Inuit film scene, but never
mind that. His star is rising fast, having already earned
various and sundry awards, including the prestigious Camera
D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. I’m not saying he’s undeserving
of these honors, per se. I think he could be a great filmmaker
at some point. However, The Fast Runner, his first
film, is a perfect example of a good idea and strong vision
completely hamstrung by an overindulgence of “artistic” pacing
and the complete lack of an editor.
In The Fast Runner, we are introduced
to a clan of nomadic Inuit, whom we uncultured types know
as Eskimos, who are basically just trying to survive in the
near arctic conditions of Northern Canada at the dawn of the
century. They go about their business, killing antelope and
seals for food, trying to keep warm and what have you, making
the first hour or so of the film seem like a National Geographic
special on seconal. When Kunuk finally gets to the plot, which
is based on an Inuit legend, it actually turns out to be an
interesting one. A shaman, seen briefly at the beginning of
the movie, has placed a curse on the tribe, bringing them
nothing but heartache and death for 20 years. The hero of
our story, Atanarjuat, finds the burden of freeing his tribe
from this evil placed on his shoulders, though we suspect
he’d be happier going about his business of collecting seal
meat. He has a confrontation with the main villain of the
story, Oki, that leaves his brother dead and forces him to
run away to another tribe. Oki, by the way, proves that even
at the dawn of time and in ancient cultures, there were still
people around who acted like total assholes. Atanarjuat finds
his strength and then must decide to return to his village
and stop the badness, once and for all. Naturally, there’s
more to it than that, involving infidelity and bitter long-standing
feuds, but I don’t want to be here all night. At any rate,
the plot is pretty good, and Kunuk really has a feel for setting
and time period. The costumes and props, the language and
actions, all feel as authentic as a museum display. Also worth
mentioning is the stellar, crystal-sharp cinematography, which
adds as much character to the film as the actors do. All of
those things make it even harder to say that, as a whole,
I disliked this movie.
The problem with The Fast Runner is that, for all
it does right, it cannot sustain the interminable three-hour
running time that it’s saddled with. In my humble opinion,
there is not a movie around that needs to be over two hours.
Epics are just unnecessary, especially in the case of
The Fast Runner, where there’s really only 1:45:00’s-worth
of plot. I’m all for taking your time and letting the story
happen naturally; rushing things can be just as bad. But look
at films like Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia or Guillermo
Del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone; both are well paced
and take their time with their respective stories. However,
both films clock in at around two hours without sacrificing
anything vital to mood or plot. Hitting the three-hour mark
should be an immediate sign to any director that he has overshot
his goal by a generous margin. Had this been trimmed by an
hour or so, I would have heartily recommended it to many of
my friends and family. As it stands now, this is a movie that
will only be appreciated by the most pretentious of film snobs,
hell-bent on liking it because everyone who’s normal will
find it boring.
As I said at the beginning, it all comes down to length
and content. No matter how good your stuff is, it will bring
much pain to people if it comes in a too-long package. A lesson
all directors should heed, especially Zacharias Kunuk. I’m
sure he’ll make a great movie some day, but The Fast Runner
isn’t it.
—Clinton Davis
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