The Legend of Sarila (2013) Reviews

• Simply Horrible!

  kingtanichi2014-12-09

  On the one hand, it's obviously cool that the Quebecois-Canadian film industry can now put out films that look like this. Fifteen years ago, only a few institutions in the world could have amassed the technology, finance, and expertise to put together computer graphic images like this. On the other hand, however, this democratization of the tools of imaging has, unfortunately, just given more powers of spectacle to incompetent filmmakers who don't have even the most rudimentary idea how to tell a story. This story begins from the premise that an Inuit shaman -- who has gone bad, for badly-explained/justified reasons -- has renounced his ancestral skill set for subservience to an evil god... who nonetheless never gives him any power to do anything about the hateful, unwatchable, noxious, saccharine and awful characters we're supposed to accept as heroes and sympathetic characters. Then at the end, we're supposed to go gooey-eyed because after being stupidly and unconvincingly defeated, he's "forgiven," and thus kinda-sorta redeemed by these horrible "hero" characters who we've spent the last hour-plus wanting to see die... Don't waste your time.

• Charming Animation from Inuit Culture

  dreyson2015-02-08

  I think a 5.3 rating here is completely undeserving. It's a wonderful re-imaging of Inuit traditions, myths and legends. The animation is solid and it's true to its source material. The evil spirits could be a little too scary for under 6s, but this story aims for the 8 - 12 age anyhow, and for that age group it's a wonderful adventure tale with a rich respect for cultures. A nice Sunday afternoon film for the family, so give it a go if it's on TV or rent it. Sure it's not a must own film, but its charming enough and definitely better than many of the animated sequels pumping in hundreds of million into studio pockets.

• Not a bad way to pass the time, but I wouldn't have paid money for it.

  duif_holmes2015-10-31

  Croolik apparently became a shell of his former self when his sons died. Too bad we never learn what kind of person he used to be aside from a shaman and apparently not evil. Also, the writers have a tendency to blame the whole thing on buzzwords for things that turn people evil without putting too much thought into it. ("You're blinded by pride and ambition!" "Ambition? At this point in the movie I'm just trying to kill Markussi.") But I found myself caring about him anyway. Markussi's "I don't want to be a shaman" subplot was interesting, but it's pretty much all we know about him. What's his favorite color? How does he feel about his parents being dead? No idea. Sedna mentions something about using his powers for personal gain versus using them for the good of the tribe, but that doesn't really go anywhere either. Again, I found myself caring about him anyway. We know even less about what goes on in Apik's head. The movie tries to give her some characterization when her mom doesn't want her to go on the journey to Sarila, but since the crow spirit chose her in this ceremony that the whole tribe agreed would determine who goes to Sarila her decision to defy her mother and go on an adventure was really just the obvious thing to do under the circumstances. Depending on how strictly you interpret the criteria she might also fail the Sexy Lamp Test. (Thanks to Sedna and Saya the movie as a whole passes, but the way things are set up it looks like Apik was supposed to be the female lead and they were supposed to be more minor characters.) Again, I found myself caring about her anyway. Poutulik basically just exists so Croolik has someone to give that amulet to. I'd like to say I ended up caring about him anyway but uh... no, not really. Also, he's a hunter who kills animals - but only off screen. Whenever an animal actually appears on screen the others are all "Oh, don't kill that lemming, he's to small to be worth the trouble." "Oh, don't kill that... caribou?, she's pregnant." I can understand the reasoning behind this, but it's still a bit distracting once you notice it. Speaking of animals and weird things, the marketing decision - I mean lemming - is a lot more stylized than the humans or the other animals. Which is not all that good for the suspension of disbelief. Plus there's what basically amounts to a clip show in the middle of the movie. Seriously, why? Basically, if the writers had put a bit more thought into what really goes on inside the characters' heads, dropped the clip show (and maybe one of Croolik's attempts to kill Markussi) and used the extra time for some more character development this could have been a much better movie. As it is it's not bad, it's just not very good either.

• A simple tale of good vs. evil...

  celluloidkiwi2014-06-24

  The Clan has been without a steady food supply for some time due to poor relations with the spirit world. It is up to the young members of the Clan to embrace a challenge requiring purity of mind and heart. In this way, they may enter a mythical land and gain what is needed to set the Clan back in good standing with the spirits while bringing old, tiresome hatred out from it's shadows so it can be dealt with openly. While the animation is a bit dated, it lends a charm to this script and is in keeping with both the simplicity of the story and it's target audience. The script is likewise as simple and far-fetched as are the minds of most little ones, but does a fine job of including the whole family from grandparents to grandchildren. The acting is par with the production. It's refreshing to NOT be bombarded with Disney-like gender bashing and agenda crunching. Sadly this film did not enjoy the wide release it may have otherwise shared. Compared to the junk issued from Hollywood that is high in production, low on substance, we have here quality at a minimum cost that won't infect your kids with attitude and avarice. Good, silly fun with a few fine messages for all viewers.

• Turned it off after 15 minutes

  craemac2014-07-25

  The trailer made this look like a good family movie. But it falls far short of good...it's terrible. If based on Inuit legends and myths, no effort was made to explain or define anything. Story line was terribly slow to develop and it was quite easy to predict how particular events would unfold. The sound audio was terrible and it proved very very difficult to understand what the characters were saying. . Character development was non-existent... I would recommend avoiding this movie...young children will not understand it and will probably be scared by some of the evil spirits (which just show up and are not explained in any way).