I literally had to fight to track down and watch this movie but it worth all the trouble for it. "Ofelas" ("Pathfinder") is one of those pictures that doesn't have the attention it deserves, neither a wider distribution that should have and it will stay in this underrated category for a long time. Even with an American remake made in 2007 (I don't think I'll ever watch for countless reasons, to be exposed later on this review) I don't know if people still talk about this precious gem. But all in all, thank you AMPAS for giving a nomination for this as Best Foreign Film, otherwise it'll probably been overlooked under my radar.
"Ofelas" works almost like "True Grit" in the sense of the audience seeing a teenager who wants to avenge the murder of his family. But instead of the Old West scenario and someone paying for an old Sheriff to do the job, we have the Scandinavian wilderness of many centuries ago, and this time a boy named Aigin (Mikkel Gaup) joins another tribe to help with his plan but they're not so willing since they're not trained warriors like the Tchudes (the brutal tribe that killed the boy's family) and they're in an astonishing disadvantage with plenty of women and children with them. So, the boy decides to go on his own, improvising an intriguing scheme against those murderers, things to make us gripped through the whole time.
It's not about just butchery and vengeance, there's plenty of deep mind-blowing things that rare similar projects can deal with. Transcendental like very few pictures can be, I mean really, you can watch this without the captions on and you'll still have a clue of what the movie is about, "Ofelas" surprised me for its poetic presentation of themes like faith, companion, the power of love and also the power of hate and destruction, translated all that through expressions, actions, very few words and when they're used they're magnificent. The dialog in the tent between Aigin and the tribe "pathfinder" Raste (Nils Utsi) is the high point of the film, when the old man teaches the young man what faith is about. "You still can't see it? But now you can feel that something is there. You can't see it in the air, but your very existence is tied to it. In this way all things are bound together, intertwined. No man can ever tear himself apart from the whole."
He goes on. "But it can happen that he loses sight of the whole. When he does, he is like the Tchudes. Men who lost the path. They stumble blindly towards self-destruction." This quote also says everything about the villains of whom we're never able to see them talking. They simply show up on the screen and kill everybody. Why? It's all they have. The actor who plays their leader doesn't say a word, not just because the script says so but also because he's the only member of the cast who isn't from Norway. Yet, even if he had lines he would be the perfect choice for the role thanks to his powerful expressions, frightening and controlling, menacing from the first minute his presence is noted.
It's a small film but of a great effect. Perfect in every sense, from the acting, the beautiful cinematography, the scary yet majestuous scenaries of mountains and trees. The action sequences has to be one of the greatest ever filmed, including the fight with a bear; the tragic opening scenes with Aigin running away from the Tchudes; the spectacularly thrilling final moments, very nerve-wracking. With all that in mind, why would anyone bother to see the millionaire budget remake? I don't think all the money in the world could represent everything this movie had: heart, soul and a great meaningful story to present. Do whatever you can to watch it. 10/10
"Ofelas" works almost like "True Grit" in the sense of the audience seeing a teenager who wants to avenge the murder of his family. But instead of the Old West scenario and someone paying for an old Sheriff to do the job, we have the Scandinavian wilderness of many centuries ago, and this time a boy named Aigin (Mikkel Gaup) joins another tribe to help with his plan but they're not so willing since they're not trained warriors like the Tchudes (the brutal tribe that killed the boy's family) and they're in an astonishing disadvantage with plenty of women and children with them. So, the boy decides to go on his own, improvising an intriguing scheme against those murderers, things to make us gripped through the whole time.
It's not about just butchery and vengeance, there's plenty of deep mind-blowing things that rare similar projects can deal with. Transcendental like very few pictures can be, I mean really, you can watch this without the captions on and you'll still have a clue of what the movie is about, "Ofelas" surprised me for its poetic presentation of themes like faith, companion, the power of love and also the power of hate and destruction, translated all that through expressions, actions, very few words and when they're used they're magnificent. The dialog in the tent between Aigin and the tribe "pathfinder" Raste (Nils Utsi) is the high point of the film, when the old man teaches the young man what faith is about. "You still can't see it? But now you can feel that something is there. You can't see it in the air, but your very existence is tied to it. In this way all things are bound together, intertwined. No man can ever tear himself apart from the whole."
He goes on. "But it can happen that he loses sight of the whole. When he does, he is like the Tchudes. Men who lost the path. They stumble blindly towards self-destruction." This quote also says everything about the villains of whom we're never able to see them talking. They simply show up on the screen and kill everybody. Why? It's all they have. The actor who plays their leader doesn't say a word, not just because the script says so but also because he's the only member of the cast who isn't from Norway. Yet, even if he had lines he would be the perfect choice for the role thanks to his powerful expressions, frightening and controlling, menacing from the first minute his presence is noted.
It's a small film but of a great effect. Perfect in every sense, from the acting, the beautiful cinematography, the scary yet majestuous scenaries of mountains and trees. The action sequences has to be one of the greatest ever filmed, including the fight with a bear; the tragic opening scenes with Aigin running away from the Tchudes; the spectacularly thrilling final moments, very nerve-wracking. With all that in mind, why would anyone bother to see the millionaire budget remake? I don't think all the money in the world could represent everything this movie had: heart, soul and a great meaningful story to present. Do whatever you can to watch it. 10/10