Navigator: Uma Odisséia No Tempo

Very good film with interesting as well as weird plot , nice acting and exceptional , colorful cinematography shot on location and has the feel of a great medieval fable . As men guided by a boy's vision, dig a tunnel from 14th century England to 20th century New Zealand . This Time-Travel Adventure set in Middle Age begins with a real sense of wonder and intrigue with pest causing ravage and winds up with continuous feats climbing a cathedral and including a surprising finale . As a psychic boy called Connor (Bruce Lyons) lives in 14th century Cumbria (north of England) , a tiny medieval English village . Connor keeps getting visions he cannot explain , he attempts to protect villagers from the bubonic plague . His village has so far been spared from the pest , but the villagers fear its imminent arrival and seeking relief from the Black Death . With the illuminate young boy as their guide , a group (Chris Haywood as Arno , Hamish McFarlane as Griffin , Marshall Napier as Searle , Noel Appleby as Ulf) set out to dig a hole to the other side of the world . As in an age of darkness , circa 1348 , a motley group will face the ultimate battle against deadly plague . Then , Connor leads a tunneling expedition so as to fulfill the visions and save the village , but they emerge in a modern city from New Zealand , XX Century .

Gripping and evocative film about Middle Age and full of fantasy when a group of men from Dark Ages emerge in a modern city in 1988 . In Middle Age one young boy along with some reckless countrymen will take on an impressive fight against bubonic Death . It is a genuine as well as imaginative medieval tale written and directed with great sensibility , fairness and clarity . This one contains a Bergman style , as ¨Seventh Seal¨ comes to mind , as the first part results to be filmed in Bergmanian wake . It was not just the artistic vision or imagination, but above all , religion , God , devil and sacrifice . This engrossing picture contains powerful and haunting images , being divided in two parts : Middle Age and Modern Times . It's plenty of scenes that stay in the mind as when the group appears at the 'other side' that results to be 20th century New Zealand , as the appearance of Black Death and church bell conquest . This thought-provoking story deals with holy fate , religious awe , the passion , Catholic Church and several other 'Age of Darkness' issues . The interesting perspective is intimate and it lends a great deal of excitement to the movie experience . Beautiful scenery, tense , intriguing and a stirring climax lift this story . There's something for everyone here ; fans of history , fans of Sci-Fi/Fantasy , fans of medieval adventure should all find something to enjoy about this film .

Wonderfully directed is all strongest for being brilliantly photographed in an excellent black and white during Middle Age and colorful imagine for recent times , excellently shot by cameraman Geoffrey Simpson , filmed on location in Auckland, Mount Ruapehu, Tongariro National Park, Southern Alps, Waitomo Caves, Waikato, New Zealand . Emotive as well as atmospheric musical score plenty of religious sounds and chores by Tabrizi . The motion picture was stunningly written and directed by Vincent Ward , though on a short budget . It was this movie that convinced the producers of Alien 3 (1992) to hire Vincent Ward as writer/director , although Ward would eventually leave the set of Alien 3 after many creative differences with the studio . It's a masterpiece who made his major impact gaining international acclaim . The picture won several prizes in a lot of Festivals such as Australian Film Institute , Cannes Film Festival , Fantasporto and Sitges Catalonian Film Festival . The great filmmaker Vincent Ward has produced, executive produced and/or written and directed feature films including What Dreams May Come , The River Queen and The Last Samurai , developing the underlying material he chose the director, before acting as an executive producer on this film . Ward's films have earned critical acclaim and festival attention whilst achieving a wide, eclectic audience as Vigil (1984), and Map of the Human Heart (1993) and this The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988) . Rating : Above average but is deemed by many to be the Vincent ward's best .

i enjoyed this film when it was first released on video - it never seemed to have played the theaters in my college town.

i loved it!

i've often thought about it from time to time, and wondered why i never see it on TV.

it seems like a good film for the sci-fi channel or bravo (dear god, how many times can they run 'braveheart'???)

i recall it being inventive, well-acted, well-directed.

a pity it's not better known. heck, i don't even think it can be found at blockbusters now.

I wish I could have a few minutes to hear Vincent Ward's take on the marketing of the movie, because I never have seen anything so mis-marketed. I could see some US film distributor scratching his head and saying, "gee? how are we going to make this dreary arty movie about the black plague appeal to the lowest common denominator of the US market?", "Ok, let's slap sci-fi and time travel on it..."

Navigator is a beautifully filmed, well acted, impressive movie that (hear this!) has nothing to do with time-travel, or "monks dodging 20th century stuff"...it is an allegory! (look that up). What Mr. Ward does is, rather than rely on expensive and silly special effects to spice up fantasy dream sequences, simply juxtaposes 20th century settings with the 14th century time frame of the film to give life to a boy's fantastic visions, and story told to give hope and entertain the desperate people of his village...his visions, done in color and film with the 20th century as it backdrop is as fantastic to the people of his village, as if someone from the 14th century actually did travel through time. With premonitions of the arrival of the plague to his village (which turn out to be heeded), the villagers of a winter bound poor community hover in fear and look for any omen good or bad to give them some sign of what is coming. With a fantastic narration of a quest (ala the holy grail) to mount a spire on a church in a faraway land, that if done before sunrise would save the village, a boy describes his fantasy which is shown to us, complete with sea monsters and dragons (all represented by 20th century contrivances).

For those seeking real time travel, stick to the true sci-fi, you will be disappointed...

For those interested in seeing a dark, moving tale of the desperation that must have been felt by the people who lived through the plague without understanding what it really was...a tale where the fantastic is really our wonderfully mundane world...check this out.

This film is almost unknown. None of the cast ever achieved fame, and Vincent Ward, while an able director, is not very prolific. However, I still cherish my memories of this movie. I saw it nearly 11 years ago, and every detail , and all of the performances, are still fresh in my mind. It is a fantasy of extraordinary beauty, which does not use a single special effect, and which conveys the thoughts and beliefs of "mediaeval" peasants better than a dozen high-priced epics.

Some of the critiques I've read of this, from others on the database, complain about the clumsy imagery or the accents. Get a grip. The point isn't linguistic accuracy, or any other kind of "accuracy" but rather the theme and motifs. In 1348 a frightening "illness" swept Europe, killing thousands. People didn't understand what caused the illness, only that it offered a horrifying death. This movie is as much a critique of "christendom" as it is of contemporary politics. If the US nuclear submarine is for some too clumsy an analogy to the black death, imagine the fall out of nuclear bombing as analogous to the black death. The pervasive silent killer. This movie was fantastic, for its imaginative plot, the interesting motifs and imagery, the concept of a small boy's vision, and the possible universes.