Scandinavian Film Festival - Day 6 - Pathfinder

Day six of the festival and today I only saw one movie that was from 1987, here is the review...

Director: Nils Gaup
Cast: Mikkel Gaup, Ingvald Guttorm, Nils Utsi, Henrik H. Buljo
Writers: Nils Gaup
Music: Kjetil Bjerkestrand, Marius Müller, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää
Production: Norway, 1987
Release Date: 3 September 1987
Runtime: 86 Minutes
Original Name: Ofelas
IMDB Link: Pathfinder
Trailer: Pathfinder

Also most 1000 years ago, Aigin is a young Sami who, one day, after coming from hunting, witnesses his family being slaughtered by the Chudes. He manages to escape but it´s injured by an arrow, wounded he reaches   the nearest community. After being treated by the local shaman they get into a debate about facing the Chudes; many argue that they must leave the place and join forces with the Samis in the coast. Aigin and some of the hunters stay behind to fight as the rest of the Samis go to the coast, but as soon as the Chudes hit the community, they win the battle, in the process take the shaman-leader, and force him to tell them where the other were heading. To prevent the torture Aigin offers himself to lead the Chudes to the coastal settlements where the rest of the Samis lived. However, Aigin has a plan to kill them before they can reach the settlements.

Directed by Nils Gaup in 1987, the film is base on a very old Sami legend and was the first full-length film in Sami. As a 80s movie it has many cheesey things such as silly jokes and the way some of the scenes were shot but don’t let those things stop you from seeing   it. Pathfinder manages not only to show but also to immerse the spectator in the Sami culture. There is also a moral and philosophical statement behind the plot; the Sami refer to the Chudes as those who have lost the essence. I also recommend this movie to those people who are interested in anthropological subjects, as there are many cultural references to the Sami culture. The story is straightforward and simple; there aren’t many twists and some funny scenes make of this movie one of my best adventure films.