madisonwisconsinite This is a story about the Sámi people, to enlighten my reader, here's the beginning of a wikipedia article about them: "The Sami people, also spelled Sámi or Saami, are the indigenous Finno-Ugric people inhabiting the Arctic area of Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway."The English title, Pathfinder, is rendered as Ofelaš in the Sámi language, and the film is also known as Veiviseren in Norwegian. Around the 1000 CE a warlike people called Tchudes (or Tsjuderen?), pillage and plunder from others in northern Scandinavia. As they brutally exterminate a Sámi family in a remote area, teenage son Aigin the last of his family being dragged to a hole in the ice and plunged under, but escapes the slaughter. He evades capture and killing at the hands of these marauders and skis overland to a far-off Sámi camp. Alas, his hosts are worried he might not have been able to hide his tracks, and fearful of these bloodthirsty people, the Sámi decide to flee to the coast. Aigin stays to avenge his family's murder. Unfortunately, the Tschudes capture him before he can do anything, and force him to lead them to the other Sámi. Although forced to guide them, Aigin has a surprise plan to annihilate these savage people before they can reach the Saami camp. This ancient coming-of-age story is very well told, with the main dialog in Sámi, translated to the viewer's language, while the words of the Tschudes, not translated, are left for the viewer to contemplate..People who lack any experience with indigenous original peoples who remain evolved with the land that has supported them for millennia, NEED to experience this look at life from the perspective of a culture unpolluted by the corruption of external forces and religion."Raste," a Noaidi of the Sámi village where Aigin escapes to, speaks to the young man about his anger and desire to avenge himself and his family against the Tchudes who killed them: Raste: Thoughts of revenge are darkening your mind. Remember, we are but parts of the whole, parts of the infinite brotherhood. The Tchudes have forgotten it. Don't you forget, lad. Aigin: I'm not part of any brotherhood, I am alone. Raste: You may feel that way now, but trust me, you too are bound to this infinite brotherhood . . . . with unbreakable bonds. Listen and remember what I say. This morning, I saw the reindeer bull for the third time in my life. The first time I saw it, I was your age. The second time I was in the prime of my life; and today is the third time. Listen now, and remember. The reindeer has come for the last time. Aigin: And what does that mean? Raste disappears.I recommend a read of wikipedia's article on the Sámi/Saami people, the English version has links to the article in sixty-four other languages, including Suomi, and the unrelated regional languages Svenska, Norsk nynorsk, Norsk bokmål, Nederlands, and Dansk.

leinad_slin Since there's a remake of this film coming soon (from what I've read, it's no good), I thought I'd write a comment on the original.I am part Saami, and I've lived in the Saami capital, Guovdageaidnu, all my life. This means that I know more about this film than any of you, so listen up! I have watched this film many times, not because it's good, but because I had to since it's a part of school education here.Knowing the language, I must say the dialog is pretty bad. But that shouldn't bother you guys, since all that needs to sound/ look good to you, is the translation.The acting is mediocre, but that doesn't necessarily ruin a film.This film is too close to me, for me to be able to say it's good. But for foreigners this film is all but bad, rather exotic. So I guess there's a good chance you'll like it if you're foreign... so see it!

willyandre This is one of the truly great Norwegian movies, and those are sort of far between. The thing is, there's not a single word of Norwegian spoken either. It's all in an ancient dialect of the Sami language. This movie is made by Sami filmmakers based on their history. All in all that's some feat in a country where their people were systematically oppressed by the government. The attempts to wipe out their culture and assimilate them into the Norwegian one is only outevilized by the American hunt for the Indians.The scenery and the light in this movie is truly awesome. It's the kind of light you only get in the dark period in the arctic. The sort of neverending dusk/dawn time. For most of the year, the sun doesn't rise in this part of the world, and this results in the spooky, troll-like feeling of this film.

thomas hodgens I had not heard of Pathfinder (Ofelas) before it was screened on television tonight. My first impression was WOW! The photography and soundtrack were both stunning. The story is straightforward, set in 10th century Lapland, a boy witnesses the slaughter of his family by a marauding tribe, who then proceed to pursue him. He takes refuge in a small peaceful settlement, but it is not long before long the brutal kllers of his family catch up. This film is wonderful in all aspects, everyone involved in its production deserve the highest praise. The film is short but I guarantee you will feel exhausted watching this pursuit in the snow. I would like to recommend Shadow of the Wolf directed by Jacques Dorfman starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Toshiro Mifune another snow spectacular set amongst the Innuit tribe.