Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Here is a sure-fire recipe for a memorable movie: take one thousand-year-old legend that has been passed down generation after generation; add spectacular scenery and interesting local customs; stir well with spiritual counsel and breathtaking courage. The result? No, it is not King Arthur. It is Ofelas, or, as it was titled in English, Pathfinder.

This 1987 Norwegian film was nominated for an Oscar in the Foreign Films category.

Filmed in northern Norway, using Laplanders to portray the villagers, this is a gripping tale of courage under the most desperate of conditions.

In 1000 AD, a tribe of lawless marauders, called tjuder, roamed the country, killing anyone they happened upon and taking their valuables, mostly furs. They traveled on foot, carrying everything on their backs.

They were expert with the crossbow. They would sneak up on unsuspecting villagers and let loose their arrows before anyone was aware of their presence. No one was left alive.

A young boy, returning from a hunt, came across this band of brigands who had just murdered his entire family. They discover him in the trees above the murder scene, because one of his skis slid down the hill. He was able to escape, though wounded, because he still had one ski, while his pursuers had to run through knee-deep snow.

I wonder why it was so important for the tjuder to catch this boy. He certainly was no threat to about fifteen burly men. It wasn’t like he could run to the corner and dial 911. I also wonder how it could be profitable for these men to make a living from stealing furs, because they were limited by how much they could carry, and if they carried too much, they would not be able to attack villages efficiently.

The wounded boy finally arrives at the next village, and warns them about the tjuder. The villagers, after some dissension, decide to pack up and go to the coast, where they think they will be safe. The boy stays behind, and three men return to help him fight the tjuder. This is a hopeless endeavor, and the upshot of this encounter is that the boy agrees to lead the tjuder to the coastal village. This is not as bad as it appears. The boy has a plan to destroy the tjuder before they reach the coastal village, but his life will be in great jeopardy.

When the refugees arrive at the coastal village they find that the people there are ill-prepared to deal with the approaching danger. All of the men have just left on a three-day hunt. The new arrivals think that the tjuder might follow their trail, but that they have a two day respite because the pursuers are on foot, whereas they came by sled.

“What about the shortcut over the mountains?,” asks someone. “They don’t know about the shortcut,” was the reply.

But... that is exactly the way that the boy is leading the tjuder. It is part of his plan.........

The depiction of life in this time and place is fascinating. Scenes describe a bear hunt (you really wouldn’t want to do this), medical practices of the time, divining the future, traveling by sleds and reindeer, the spiritual guidance of the old pathfinder, saunas, clothing and housing.

And you really wouldn’t like to meet up with the tjuder. They are about the most evil-looking bad guys I have ever seen in a movie.




Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older