In Alaska Panorama
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Depressed and out of answers, Woody, a 17-year-old Inuk boy, leaves a note for his mother and sets out with his rifle to end his own life. When his attempt fails, he inadvertently fires a bullet into the nearby Trans-Alaska Pipeline, setting off a federal manhunt through the wilderness and over the border into Northern Canada. There, he finds a community and reconnects with the land and his mother’s Inuit roots. As FBI agent Tarheel (Noomi Rapace) closes in on Woody’s trail, she begins to understand the pain behind his actions.
With In Alaska, Dutch filmmaker Jaap van Heusden and Inuk artist Vinnie Karetak map the generational effects of colonial violence onto both character and landscape, allowing the land to reflect Woody’s inner struggles. Woody’s journey is arduous, and he never entirely escapes the darkness that follows him, but Leo Matthew Temela’s performance reveals a young man who may finally be learning what it means to be alive.
With In Alaska, Dutch filmmaker Jaap van Heusden and Inuk artist Vinnie Karetak map the generational effects of colonial violence onto both character and landscape, allowing the land to reflect Woody’s inner struggles. Woody’s journey is arduous, and he never entirely escapes the darkness that follows him, but Leo Matthew Temela’s performance reveals a young man who may finally be learning what it means to be alive.
