Navigator: Uma Odisséia No Tempo

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 first watched this film in the early nineties. It's always a good sign when a movie can suck you into something new. This is a unique story in a ocean of sequels and copies. It's not just a film about time travel, in fact the time travel takes a back seat to the psychology of a medieval man. This film is about a small medieval village during a time of the plague and a boy who seems to have an answer on how to keep this plague at bay. It's a world filled with superstitions and struggle, even when the travelers end up in the modern era, all their motivations are much the same. It is a gritty film, for some it may be a bit to dark, but it is a truly fascinating and original study.

This is truly a lost gem of a film. It is beautifully photographed, well-acted, well paced, and well written. It is a fantasy film that relies on the fantasy and not on the SFX budget. Something we see all too little of these days.

It is the story of a little boy that has visions during medieval times of a great city, and to save the village from the horrors of the Black Death, he, his brother Connor, and a few others must travel there and erect a spike on the cathedral there. Of course, this is a fruitless enterprise and Connor knows it, but no one would listen to him; they were stuck on a single idea and would hear nothing else.

Their journey to what turned out to be New Zealand is both humorous and sad. There were times when one would be brought almost to tears and at other times laughing hard enough to hurt, but the sad element was dominant.

As with all the films I like to review, it has a strong 'cult movie' appeal, but it is more accessable to general audiences than, say, Six-String Samurai was. Seeing that the Director (Vincent Ward) later did 'What Dreams May Come' (I'll review that one in a few weeks) this film deserves to brought back into the spotlight.

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.

It's 1348 Cumbria, England. Black Death has killed a third of Europe and is spreading in England. Griffin is a young boy in a village which is still free from the disease. He has visions of a cathedral. Connor leads a group to rig a spire on this cathedral. They dig using a machine and come out into the modern world on the other side. Martin declares it God's world which must be the other side of their cursed home world. Ulf fails to cross the highway and is left behind. His brother Searle leads the group as Connor goes off to find the church. They encounter three foundry workers on their last night before it is shut down. The workers take the copper from the group and cast a pinnacle. The group races to put it up before the sun rises.

This is a great surreal adventure. It's great use of black and white. It is original and unique. Crossing the highway is utterly memorable. The characters are great. This is a great concept that overcomes the lower budget and limited filmmaking. It is wondrous, thrilling, and memorable.