Far North (a review for M)
May. 23rd, 2009 07:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_revSo. SERIOUS SPOILERS. Like. Everything. The whole story.
It was an interesting film. And I don't think the end was entirely, as M suggested to me, unearned by other events. It was a bit surprising, though, to the extent that it was kind of wtf.
In (maybe not so) brief (and chronologically), Saiva is an outcast from her people, people of the artic wherever, on her own from a very young age. A shaman said she was cursed. When she was younger she fell in love with a man who was soonafter killed by soldiers (Russian, I think, if that matters, they wanted the coal?) along with the rest of his people. When Saiva finds them dead she is captured by the soldiers and raped. She then finds a crying baby among the dead, and takes her for her own. The soldiers then tell her to lead them to the men (I believe this is what he asked her to do), so she leads them out into the snow, cuts herself free of the rope to which they are all tied, and then throws them all off of a cliff.
Presumably Saiva continues to live in solitude with her "daughter", Anja, until Anja is nearly grown and this is where the movie begins. Saiva in the snow, fetching a dog and (very kindly) slitting its throat and then skinning it for dinner. I had a feeling in these first few minutes that the film would end similarly.
After moving around and unsuccessfully finding other food sources, Saiva runs into Loki (Sean) on the Tundra, and he is near death. She brings him home although Anja says this is very odd and he is very lucky, as Saiva has always told her that if she comes across someone on the ice, to cut off their heads first and then ask them if they need help.
There's a bit of Loki/Saiva hand-holding, but he quickly moves on to Anja, who giggles and is flirtatioius and not so serious as the stern-faced, perpetually knife-wielding Saiva. It seems Sean is some kind of escapee, and he kills a few guys, but this is somewhat incidental. Saiva warns Anja that she should not fall for Loki, and you wonder if it is out of jealousy or concern. They do not fight over him, which is kind of what I expected.
Eventually, Anja tells Saiva that she is leaving with Loki. So. While Loki is out to check if the sea is frozen enough to be traveled upon...
Wait for it...
Saiva offers to braid Anja's hair, strangles her with the braid, cuts off her face, wears it, and waits for Loki to return. He comes home and they hop into bed and they're having a good time until he has to ruin it all by finding out that she's wearing his girlfriend's face. He screams and runs out into the snow. Naked. The film ends with Saiva crying into her hands, clutching at not-her-face.
So. Yeah. To answer your question, M, Saiva only technically kills her "daughter", but I'm betting Bean didn't last long in the snow in the buff. He was kind of an okay guy, kind of a jerk sometimes.
I have to say it bugged me a little that they portrayed the women as not entirely competent. Only a big strong man can shoot a reindeer. Whatever.
It was an interesting film. And I don't think the end was entirely, as M suggested to me, unearned by other events. It was a bit surprising, though, to the extent that it was kind of wtf.
In (maybe not so) brief (and chronologically), Saiva is an outcast from her people, people of the artic wherever, on her own from a very young age. A shaman said she was cursed. When she was younger she fell in love with a man who was soonafter killed by soldiers (Russian, I think, if that matters, they wanted the coal?) along with the rest of his people. When Saiva finds them dead she is captured by the soldiers and raped. She then finds a crying baby among the dead, and takes her for her own. The soldiers then tell her to lead them to the men (I believe this is what he asked her to do), so she leads them out into the snow, cuts herself free of the rope to which they are all tied, and then throws them all off of a cliff.
Presumably Saiva continues to live in solitude with her "daughter", Anja, until Anja is nearly grown and this is where the movie begins. Saiva in the snow, fetching a dog and (very kindly) slitting its throat and then skinning it for dinner. I had a feeling in these first few minutes that the film would end similarly.
After moving around and unsuccessfully finding other food sources, Saiva runs into Loki (Sean) on the Tundra, and he is near death. She brings him home although Anja says this is very odd and he is very lucky, as Saiva has always told her that if she comes across someone on the ice, to cut off their heads first and then ask them if they need help.
There's a bit of Loki/Saiva hand-holding, but he quickly moves on to Anja, who giggles and is flirtatioius and not so serious as the stern-faced, perpetually knife-wielding Saiva. It seems Sean is some kind of escapee, and he kills a few guys, but this is somewhat incidental. Saiva warns Anja that she should not fall for Loki, and you wonder if it is out of jealousy or concern. They do not fight over him, which is kind of what I expected.
Eventually, Anja tells Saiva that she is leaving with Loki. So. While Loki is out to check if the sea is frozen enough to be traveled upon...
Wait for it...
Saiva offers to braid Anja's hair, strangles her with the braid, cuts off her face, wears it, and waits for Loki to return. He comes home and they hop into bed and they're having a good time until he has to ruin it all by finding out that she's wearing his girlfriend's face. He screams and runs out into the snow. Naked. The film ends with Saiva crying into her hands, clutching at not-her-face.
So. Yeah. To answer your question, M, Saiva only technically kills her "daughter", but I'm betting Bean didn't last long in the snow in the buff. He was kind of an okay guy, kind of a jerk sometimes.
I have to say it bugged me a little that they portrayed the women as not entirely competent. Only a big strong man can shoot a reindeer. Whatever.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 12:23 am (UTC)I guess there wasn't much light in the tent. Geeze.
I am surprised at your last comment. Saiva has been surviving and raised Anja without help so this seems odd as well as surprising given what I'd read about the director. You can't see any other reading of the scene?
Thanks! I hope watching this wasn't a terrible hardship.^^
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 01:37 am (UTC)The light was low, but still. It was crazy. She was wearing the face and neck and had it pinned into her hair. But he was kissing her neck and of course her mouth, and didn't notice until the skin kind of bunched up on her cheek. Um.
Perhaps I misread the circumstances. Maybe they couldn't find one and he did. They did see a reindeer once but they were in a boat at the time and the deer was on shore. So perhaps that was the problem. But when he asked how he could repay them for their help, Anja asked for a reindeer because she was hungry.
Also, the boat they were in, it had an outboard motor but Saiva didn't know how to use it, so they just rowed until Loki came along and showed them how. This doesn't bother me as much because it makes sense, but coupled with the reindeer it kind of bugged me.
Also, her courtship when she was younger? It could have been directly out of a fifties drive-in date movie, except that they were wearing fur. I would have expected something a little more culturally specific. I don't know what that culture is, but it seemed bland.
It was not a hardship! I know I seem to be complaining. I wanted to see it! And it really was an interesting movie. The end was the best part! And I enjoyed telling the Captain about it! ^_^
Also, also, there are a few nice Bean hand shots.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 01:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 05:16 pm (UTC)I, too, expected that Saiva would put up a fight for Loki. I read that there's little dialogue. Is there much sense of Saiva's motivation? For anything? For a woman so bent of survival, does she feel she'll do better alone? Otherwise, what percentage is there is killing off her helpers? And yet she cries about it.
I wonder how the story reads.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-27 02:05 pm (UTC)I'm not sure, though. Like you said, I wonder how the book reads.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-27 02:09 pm (UTC)