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Arctic Son

Docurama // Unrated // September 23, 2008
List Price: $26.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Chris Neilson | posted October 6, 2008 | E-mail the Author
Stan Njootli, Jr., a troubled twentysomething, travels from his hometown of Seattle to the Alaskan Native village of Old Crow to reconnect with his estranged father after more than a decade apart. Accustomed to partying, Stan experiences a culture shock trying to acclimate to his father's subsistence hunting lifestyle. Freshman filmmaker Andrew Walton wisely refrains from narrating, leaving it to his taciturn subjects to convey meaning through their actions as much as their words. Though the lengthy Arctic backcountry footage plays like an extended outtake from Nimrod Nation, Arctic Son is ultimately a heartwarming tale with many fine moments and beautiful cinematography.

The letterboxed 1.78:1 image suffers from minor aliasing, but otherwise looks fine given the limits of the video source material. A lack of good primary audio recordings compelled filmmaker Andrew Walton to resort to forced subtitles for much of the dialogue, but the stereo score sounds dynamic. Mild profanity on the main audio track is bleeped on the "family-friendly" alternative audio track. Optional subtitles are not provided.

Extras include an interview with filmmaker Andrew Walton (10 min.), outtakes (13 min.), stills of 14 of Stan, Jr.'s paintings, and trailers for four other Docudrama releases.

Arctic Son is available individually or bundled with eleven other documentary releases in the Docurama Film Festival, Volume 5 box set (MSRP $279.95).

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