Final Rating: 4/5
This year’s selection for the opening night film at the 2022 edition of Montreal’s Fantasia Festival is the Canadian movie Polaris. The film directed by KC Carthew is described as being a sci-fi eco-adventure with non-verbal communication. The film was primarily shot in Whitehorse, Yukon and uses Northern Canada’s beautiful wilderness to its benefit as it creates a majestic snow covered post-apocalyptic world.
The film follows a young girl named Sumi, played by up and comer Viva Lee, a Korean-Canadian actress, who lives with her mother, a polar bear (played by Agee the bear, not a CGI animal). We see the duo roll around in the snow, have a playful bond and watch them travel following the North Star by using Sumi’s magical powers. Sumi double taps the inside of her hands together, back of the palms facing outwards, and they glow pink. At the same time, Polaris lights up in blazing pink fashion too, guiding mama bear and her cub. One morning when Sumi wakes up early she hears some trees moving around and making noise and plays with them. She then hears some more noise in the distance and trudges through the snow to see what the commotion is about. Unfortunately Sumi runs into a band of warrior women who kidnap her and separate her from her mother. This band is called Morad’s according to the film’s credits and they dress up like an arctic version of Mad Max characters. Covered in pieces of fur pelts that act as both functional clothing, but also trophies of past kills. They wear jewelry made from bones and teeth and some wear helmets made from skulls and rusty sheet metal to complete the post-apocalyptic evil knight chic.
It is unsure what the Morad’s want with Sumi, as she is instantly caged and guarded in their junkyard hideout. But Sumi is used to being in tough situations and how to take care of herself, she was raised by a bear after all. She manages to bait the Morad guarding her to come close to the cage; she slashes the guard’s throat using her makeshift brass knuckles that are made of razor sharp teeth that she wears at all time, that come in handy multiple times throughout the film. After escaping the compound Sumi meets Dee, an older woman who operates a gas filling station played by veteran French-Canadian actor Muriel Dutil. She feeds the young girl and calms her by playing a harmonica.
This isn’t the end of Sumi being chased down by the group of marauders, who ride around on refurbished snowmobiles that are decorated to look like war vehicles. Using rusty sheet metal, the Morad’s make protective shields and emblazon the war machines with giant antlers and skulls to look intimidating. Sumi comes across one of the Morad’s that is transporting what appears to be a dead body that Dee recognizes and adds more mystery to everything. All the while Sumi is still trying to find her mother, wondering if she is even alive or if she was killed by the hunter Morad’s.
As mentioned earlier, the film is described as having non-verbal communication. There are no subtitles, despite there still being dialogue even if it is minimal at most. The Morad’s seem to be able to communicate, mostly through hand signals, but through some communication too. Dee, who is an outsider, speaks a different language, one that neither Morad’s nor Sumi understands. Sumi, who’s mother is a bear mostly communicates through growls and guttural noises with Viva Lee giving a very feral performance, one based on movement and animalistic tendencies. She turns in a phenomenal performance, with her version of Mowgli from The Jungle Book, raised by a polar bear and struggling to connect with other humans. When the movie has its action sequences that are filled with blood and gore, she turns on her prey drive and it is reminiscent of Laura, the mini Wolverine from Logan.
Using the wide open snowy landscapes of Yukon, it works great for creating a futuristic landscape. Knowing what we know about global warming, when this movie takes place in the year of 2144, a good chunk of the world will be underwater due to melting ice caps. Will Yukon be spared from the melting snow and ice that is currently plaguing the North Pole, or after the next great flooding killing most of the planet’s inhabitants, will that eventually plunge the world into another ice age making habitats closest to the North Pole the most hospitable?
Sound effects play a big part in making a futuristic scifi film seem believable, so Sound Designer Christian Rivest deserves a special shout out for helping to build the world of Polaris. The Morad’s snowmobiles sound like a cross between a small passenger plane mixed with a speeder bike from Star Wars. They buzz along like they could shoot up into the sky at any moment. Another great sound moment comes from when Dee and Sumi find the dead body. It’s being stored in what looks like a Thule hard sided car roof container, but when they open it, it sounds like an airtight cryogenic capsule that is hermetically sealed keeping the body in stasis.
The film uses an all female identifying cast, which naturally brings into the question of reproduction. Sumi is the youngest character on screen, is she like the character of Baby Diego in Children of Men, is she the youngest person in the world? Is that why the Morad’s want her, since they are more concerned with capturing her then they are with killing her, even when she attacks them. The film uses indigenous iconography and themes, but it never feels like appropriation and seemingly done respectfully and in a tribute manner. There is a wide swatch of different looking women, in ages and races, giving a unique look into what the future might look like.
Despite not being able to understand what the characters are saying verbatim, you never are confused. The film is action packed, with some bloody great fight scenes and a wonderful lead performance from a child actor who is fully committed to the part. It’s the type of genre film that will have fans gushing over as it becomes destined to be a cult favourite.
Polaris was seen during the 2022 Fantasia Festival. Thank you to IXION Communications for the screener.
