Every once in a while there’s a movie that isn’t like anything else. I was sucked in and pulled along.

For some viewers, this film will appear to be low-budget and shoddy. Don’t be fooled. Ok, the film is shot on hand-held digital video cameras. So its appearance is far more similar to a Dogme 95 film than, say, Avatar. The sound track is fairly limited, though spectacular. The actors didn’t seem to be professionals, not that it prevented them from being their charaters. While the movie, to me anyway, has the feel of an action movie, it is alien to any action movie from Hollywood—a good thing. (Disclaimer: I love Hollywood action movies, but they don’t fill anywhere near the story space that they could. A movie like this is an object lesson in what can be done.)

What really sets this film apart is the production. It was written, produced and directed by Inuit from Igloolik. They bring their perspective to the their legend and marvel us with their traditional culture. That the people involved in this movie brought their story both to their people and the wider world. I look forward to seeing the other movies they’ve produced.

Atanarjuat is an amazing glimpse at life in an Inuit community. Even if it was just for the locations, it would be remarkable, but there are some solid performances and a fascinating, almost documentary feel that the digital video brings to the story told completely in Inuktitut. Wonderful.