Far North

Stunning landscapes and letterbox cinematography might link Far North with civilisation dramas like the admirable Mongol and the abysmal 10,000BC, but Asif Kapadia’s folk tale is a darker and more daring surprise. Heading to the polar opposite of his desert setting in The Warrior, the director chooses desolate Arctic tundra as a foil to his characters’ raging inner emotions. Forced to leave her collective by a shaman, the cursed Savia (Michelle Yeoh) now lives in isolation with her adopted and flowering daughter Anja (Michelle Krusiec). With food and morale scarce the mother breaks her own rule of scavenging and leaving for dead any weary soul who might cross their path, by nursing the injured stranger Loki (Bean) back to health. A love triangle then ensues which grows restlessly towards devastating consequences. Ironically, this timeless and oneiric tale suffers only from its brevity. Yeoh holds court in a mesmerizing performance of foreboding that never allows one to easily soak up the beauty of the wilderness. However, this leaves little time for any serious engagement with the love Savia and Anja share for Loki, and inevitably renders a startling climax all the more ridiculous as only moderate identification with the trio prevails. [Andrew McWhirter]