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(as of Sep 18, 2024 15:37:49 UTC – Details)
Elle Maria, 14, is a reindeer-herding Sami girl. Exposed to the racism of the 1930’s and race biology examinations at her boarding school she starts dreaming of another life. To achieve this other life she has to become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture.
Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.72 ounces
Media Format : NTSC
Run time : 1 hour and 49 minutes
Release date : February 27, 2018
Actors : Lene Cecilia Sparrok, Mia Erika Sparrok, Maj-Doris Rimpi, Julius Fleischanderl, Hanna Alstrom
Studio : Synergetic Distribut
ASIN : B076MDDRBD
Country of Origin : USA
Number of discs : 1
4.5
Reviewer: Ballet_Girl.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: BECOMING EDUCATED ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN OTHER PLACES
Review: I think I left a review about this foreign language, much awarded film in the past, but my second viewing reinforced the quietly acted but infuriating early 20th century viewpoints, not just in America, but in lands we now think of as progressive and free-thinking. Seems most lands have struggled with more newcomers (in this instance, the Scandinavian Swedes) becoming dominant in the land first settled by indigenous tribes (in this case, the people once known as “Lapp” or “Lapplanders”), who wish to be known as Sami, and who share the lands they settled together above the Arctic/Polar Circle of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the “Rus” part of “Russia” (a name bestowed to this part of Russia by the “Rus” or Easternmost Vikings describing themselves as redheaded (a certain percentage and supposedly the bestower of red hair into diverse populations around or near the Arctic/Polar Circle and as far west as the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and many parts of Ireland and northern England.
Reviewer: J. Green
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Gripping tale of one woman’s struggle for acceptance.
Review: This movie tells the tale of an indigenous girl who tries to shed her heritage and become one of the people who look down upon her own kind. It seems she succeeds, but at great cost. In the end, there is regret, not for leaving her culture behind and embracing the culture of those who persecute the Sami, but instead for breaking family ties. At the beginning, you see this nasty old woman who doesn’t even want to acknowledge the death of her sister and wonder just what makes her such a bitch. Then it transports you to the past and you learn about all the things that have wounded her and turned her into the hard hearted old woman she has become. The treatment of the Sami by the other Swedes reminds me of the way we immigrants from Europe treated our own indigenous people. I felt a sense of shame when those boys called her names and notched her ear. The boarding school was reminiscent of boarding schools Native American youth were forced to attend to “make them white” where they weren’t allowed to even speak their own language. I wonder if the Sami now live on reservations. Wouldn’t surprise me. You do have to be in the mood to watch this. Compared to most of what comes out of Hollywood, it is slow and deliberate. If you can pay attention and let the scenes sink in, it is a rewarding experience. I thought it well acted and the cinematography was excellent. Lene Cecilia Sparrok has an incredible career ahead of her. I look forward to seeing her again. I admit I am a fan of Nordic cinema, and this little gem just whetted my appetite for more. Great movie!
Reviewer: shoppityshop
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A complex portrait
Review: This film is about the institutionalized discrimination that the Sami, an indigenous reindeer herding people from Lapland, faced from the Swedish government and people.Two Sami sisters are sent off to boarding school in order to assimilate to Swedish culture. While they face the indignities of being âswedifiedâ, they are also taught that they are racially inferior and that they will never have the same opportunities that other Swedish people do. This contradiction of being forced to give up their Sami identity and yet still forever being considered Sami, is the tension than drives much of the film.What makes the main character Elle Marja so interesting is not just the fact that she is smart and headstrong but her ambivalence and confusion about her heritage. She rebells against her own culture as well as the demeaning Swedish attitudes she faces. Refusing to stay in her box, she is the perpetual outsider trying to push her way in. Sadly Elle Marja also begins to internalize the racism she encounters. This is not a feel-good Disney film about the noble savage who proves that she indeed is to be respected or the My-Fair-Lady-upstart who manages to charm her way into society. This is a painful and complex portrayal of what cultural dominance and oppression can do to an individual, even a strong one.While the material is rich and layered there do seem to be occasional gaps in the storytelling itself. The camera work can be a little overactive at times especially when circling Elle Marjaâs intent face played by the very expressive Lene Cecilia Sparrok. Some of the secondary characters would have benefitted from a little more development as well. Overall an interesting film that is well worth watching.Sadly the use of education to erase indigenous culture is not unusual and was attempted with both the Native Americans and the Aborigines in Australia. Another movie that documents this practice is the Australian film âRabbit-Proof Fenceâ from 2002.
Reviewer: Froggie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Be open to this story
Review: The main character is a courageous young woman who steps out of where she was placed in life, seeking the “civilized” world with its many unknowns. She learns to adapt along the way, and eventually finds herself between two worlds and cultures, realizing valuable losses along the way. It was sad to see the overt lack of empathy displayed by the teacher when female students were being examined and measured by the male researcher (anthropologist?). The adults explained nothing of why they were asking the young girls to do what they asked of them and also lacked empathy for the young women’s obvious sense of embarrassment of having to disrobe and be photographed in front of strangers. Excellent story, very rich film with moving scenes, revealing the insensitivity and lack of compassion that exists when people from different worlds make assumptions or hold stereotypes of each other, and thus, losing out on understanding each other as human beings.
Reviewer: Insular
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Historical drama
Review: Shows how naturally sensitive humans are towards anything different, to deal with it requires thought and dicernment, something most are not very good at.
Reviewer: R.M.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Lapland; where my Mother was born…. Great movie about the Sami or as I grew up with the title (Lapps)- I enjoyed this movie Immensely.
Reviewer: celia
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: An interesting little film for its historic view of the Sami people & for the racism that began at this time. But it was quite a flat storyline that left me wishing there had been more of everything. Big pauses, artful shots of nothingness, I couldn’t watch it again.
Reviewer: Disa Ostrom-Jaye
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Good story, excellent acting.
Reviewer: The Dude
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Excellent film.
