Pathfinder (2007)

Director:

Marcus Nispel

Writers (WGA):

Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay)
Nils Gaup (1987 screenplay "Veiviseren")

Release Date:

13 April 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Thriller | War

Tagline:

Two Worlds, One War. The Ultimate Battle Begins.

Plot:

A Viking boy is left behind after his clan battles a Native American tribe. Raised within the tribe, he ultimately becomes their savior in a fight against the Norsemen. |

Plot Keywords:

Native American | Native | Viking | Torture | Savagery

Cast

Karl Urban	...	Ghost
Moon Bloodgood	...	Starfire
Russell Means	...	Pathfinder
Clancy Brown	...	Gunnar
Jay Tavare	...	Blackwing
Nathaniel Arcand	...	Wind In Tree
Ralf Moeller	...	Ulfar
Kevin Loring	...	Jester
Wayne Charles Baker	...	Indian Father (as Wayne C. Baker)
Michelle Thrush	...	Indian Mother
Nicole Muñoz	...	Little Sister
Burkely Duffield	...	Ghost - 12 Years Old
Ray G. Thunderchild	...	Elder #1
Duane Howard	...	Elder #2
Brandon Oakes	...	Elder #3

Also Known As:

Pathfinder: The Legend of the Ghost Warrior (USA) (promotional title)
Conquistadores (Argentina) (Mexico) (Peru) [es]
A barbár (Hungary) [hu]
Desbravadores (Brazil) [pt]
El guía del desfiladero (Spain) [es]
Le sang du guerrier (Canada: French title) [fr]
Pathfinder (Greece) (cable TV title) [el]
Pathfinder - Fährte des Kriegers (Germany) [de]
Pathfinder - La leggenda del guerriero vichingo (Italy) [it]
Pathfinder - Le sang du guerrier (France) [fr]
Pathfinder - Legenda aavesoturista (Finland) [fi]
Rajaleidja (Estonia) [et]
Tropiciel (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence throughout.

Runtime:

99 min | 107 min (unrated DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Icelandic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Malaysia:18SG | Germany:18 | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | France:-12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #42805) | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Finland:K-15 | USA:Unrated (unrated version) | Brazil:16 | Peru:14 | Australia:MA | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Despite knowing that the Vikings' helmets didn't historically have large animal horns on them, the film makers decided to add them in anyway. This would work with the modern audiences who have an ingrained stereotype of what a Viking should look like in their mind. Moreover, the horns make the Vikings look more terrifying.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the cracking ice scene, Karl Urban's character comes out of the water. The next scenes he is dry. Wet clothes don't dry during cold weather.

Quotes:

Pathfinder: You have become the Pathfinder for the Dragon People. Good!
Ghost: I'm dying.
Pathfinder: Don't complain to me about it!

Movie Connections:

References King Arthur (2004)

Dances with Vikings

Nipsel and company basically hybridized the structure of Dances with Wolves with a not-quite-historical fiction (more like radical speculation) plot about interactions between Norsemen and Native Americans during the 12th century A.D.

Ghost (Karl Urban) is a Norse boy left behind aboard a wrecked ship. He is adopted by the Clan of the Dog (the dogs who cohabitate with this tribe are historically inaccurate, but that's just one of many historical transgressions). As he grows up, Ghost's obvious difference and his history become something of a stumbling block for him, but he works hard to overcome them in order to be accepted by his adoptive people. Eventually, it seems, he must confront the demons of his past, and unfortunately, so must the Clan of the Dog.

Pathfinder is played well by Russell Means, and Ghost's love interest - Starfire - is nicely portrayed by Moon Bloodgood. Urban has great physical talent, but this story did not lend itself to testing his ability to create drama and mood, so there isn't much to say about his performance. Likewise, most of the Norse characters were so under-developed and one-dimensional that it is impossible to comment on the performances involved.

Although the story relies on stereotypes to develop both its Norse and Native American characters, since so little is actually known about the Norse colonies, this seems forgivable. What is not really forgivable, in my opinion, is the reiteration of the trope established in Dances with Wolves and other similar works which suggests that it takes a European to effectively fight off Europeans. Although the characterizations of the protagonists in both films are adequate to explain their behavior, the character and behavior of the Native Americans attached to them is less well developed, and there is a lingering, inaccurate and disturbing shadow of inferiority implied in their apparent inability to strategize and effectively lead in combat.

However, Pathfinder refuses to touch reality with any length of pole, so, sit back and enjoy the action, costumes and sets.

The film contains a lot of violence, most of which is convincingly shot. The costuming is excellent, and the sets are lovely. if you can get past the problems - which are several - you may just enjoy it.