The Fast Runner: Filming the Legend of Atanarjuat

Chapter Two: Seeing the Unseen

chaPteR two Seeing the Unseen Zacharias Kunuk and the other Isuma producers went to great lengths to make The Fast Runner ethnographically true. They consulted elders about language, relationships, clothing, implements , and other facets of Inuit life represented in the film. They considered multiple versions of the oral legend circulating in the North. And they wrote the screenplay with attention to detail and authenticity to the best of their ability. In addition to physical and social authenticity, the Isuma producers also sought spiritual authenticity. Kunuk takes spiritual powers quite seriously, and many of his works offer glimpses into the unseen realm. For example, in Saputi, a video about building a weir to catch fish in a river, Kunuk allows the story line to drift away from fishing and into the spirit world, which becomes close and powerful during times of physical inactivity. Much of the conflict in The Fast Runner is carried out either on the spiritual plane or with the intervention of spiritual powers. An understanding of the spiritual context within which the film was made is essential for a full grasp of the film’s significance. Just as Greek myths depict people as the puppets—and, at times, the beneficiaries, tools, and victims—of the gods and their Olympian struggles, The Fast Runner pursues its story arc in both the human and the spiritual spheres. The first intervention of the spirit world in the movie occurs in the opening scene, when Sauri, coveting his father’s role as camp leader, invites the evil shaman Tuurngarjuaq into the generally peaceful and prosperous camp. (For a brief rundown of the overall plot, see chapter five.) The audience isn’t shown how Sauri contacted Tuurngarjuaq and enticed him to play a destructive role in the camp’s social structure, but the disturbing shaman arrives at 19 the igloo where most of the families are visiting with each other. Before long, a contest is arranged between Tuurngarjuaq and the successful and popular camp leader Kumaglak. Both men are shamans, meaning they have developed special powers involving the spirit world. In preparation for the contest, each shaman is bound tightly in ropes, which limits his ability to compete on the human plane and forces the competition into the spirit realm. Both men draw heavily on their spiritual resources; their grunting and contorted expressions, reflecting walrus and polar bear spirit helpers, indicate that the battle is fierce, and largely removed from ordinary human perception. Ultimately, Tuurngarjuaq prevails—and Kumaglak loses his life in the struggle. For a long time after that clash, in which Tuurngarjuaq declared that Sauri would be the new head of the camp, the Igloolik families go about their business with little conspicuous involvement with the spirit world. Qulitalik and his wife leave Igloolik, aware that Tuurngarjuaq’s powers are formidable. Panikpak, another shaman, remains behind; she is Qulitalik’s sister, and she promises to contact him “in her heart” when the time is right for his return. The camp after the battle is run through politics and force, rather than through harmonious relations with the spirit world. Sauri had arranged the murder of his father by bringing in a powerful shaman, but his own son, Uqi, murders Sauri by stabbing him with a knife. Atanarjuat’s family suffers throughout this time, marginalized first by Sauri and then by Uqi, but they respond by working hard and trying to live cheerfully. It is the murderous assault on Atanarjuat and his brother that begins to reintroduce shamanistic powers and spiritual connections into the camp. Uqi and his gang attack Atanarjuat and his brother, Aamarjuaq, but just as Uqi is about to stab through the tent wall to kill Atanarjuat a voice distracts the killers. The script describes the scene: Bloodthirsty and desperate, the attackers stab frantically at any shape. Uqi sights Atanarjuat and moves in slowly for the kill. A ghostly voice calls out an urgent warning . . . 20 | chApter twO voice (os) Atanarjuat angajuata aqpakpasii! Atanarjuat’s brother is running after you! The attackers freeze. Uqi whirls around behind him. His murdering face is bestial, feral, his eyes a bloody red. Uqi’s pov: he finds himself face to face with his long-dead grandfather, the murdered Kumaglak. Totally real. The ghost points its finger. kumaglak’s ghost: Uqi! Uqi throws his spear through the figure, which then disappears. He stares dumbfounded. Behind him, from under the far corner of...