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Pathfinder

Play trailer Poster for Pathfinder Released Apr 7, 1989 1h 30m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In medieval Finland, the Sami -- a tribe of peaceful hunter-gatherers -- struggle to survive in a frozen wasteland. Aigin (Mikkel Gaup), a young Sami, watches in horror as his parents and sister are brutally murdered in a surprise attack by the Tchudes, a rival tribe of violent nomads. Though Aigin flees to safety, the Tchudes follow his tracks to another encampment. Abducted and forced to comply with Tchude demands, Aigin feigns weakness -- while secretly planning his own shocking revenge.

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Terry Francis Southern Voice (Atlanta) Pathfinder is a sturdy epic that restores moral weight to the violence borne of philosophical confrontation. Rated: 3.5/4 May 9, 2023 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews An epic adventure set a thousand years ago in Lapland. Rated: B Apr 2, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jul 22, 2005 Full Review Marty Mapes Movie Habit Rated: 3/4 Jan 31, 2002 Full Review Mark R. Leeper rec.arts.movies.reviews Rated: high +1 out of -4..+4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (78) audience reviews
Stephen P A coming of age movie for a young man who has to think on his feet in an extraordinary situation. Good guys vs bad guys for sure and the mean renegades definitely have the upper hand for most of the movie. Real nail-biter. So much of the time in our world we don't give credit to the young kids that have to make the tough decisions in dark situations. It is a character study too. Who it patient enough? Who it too greedy? Who is motivated by easy money? Who is willing to wait and do the right things for the group. Overall an interesting and thrilling movie. If you have spent any time outdoors for extended periods you will connect with this movie. Definitely a must see for middle schoolers. (If their parents don't object) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/23/24 Full Review mantly d great movie, but i want a remake, Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Amazing movie! If you can read subtitles and still enjoy a film this is a must see. This should be re-released as is. It is a timeless classic. NO CRAPPY HOLLYWOOD REMAKE THANK YOU!!! Thank goodness they didn't re-make it in the 90's, they probably would have used Macaulay Calkin so he could make that aaaaahhhhh face as his family gets slaughtered. I hope I haven't given them any ideas. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member I love it when a film takes us someplace we've never been. With 'Pathfinder' the snowcoverd mountains of Norway provided the setting for a great big action-adventure story. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member This obscure little film (or at least in the UK) basically sums up the reason why I love world cinema. The first Sami language film, it really does a good job of introducing you to a culture that may be unfamiliar to non-Scandinavian audiences. It certainly sparked my interest in Sami culture. The film itself, set in Lapland 1000 years ago, is based on a Sami folktale. A Sami teenager, Aigin, returns home to find his parents and little sister murdered by the Tchude, and so flees to take refuge in a peaceful village. But the Tchude are in pursuit of him, and realising the danger, most of the village set out over the mountains to the coast for safety, while a vengeful Aigin and a few hunters stand their ground. However, the hunters are no match for the Tchude and are swiftly killed in the ensuing fight, and Aigin himself is kept alive so he can lead them to where the rest of the village is. Brute force has failed to stop the Tchude...now Aigin must use his intellect to defeat them and save the villagers. It's a simple film, barely clocking in at 90 minutes, but well worth the watch. You actually care for Aigin and the villagers and the villains are genuinely menacing, not cackling Hollywood baddies, but silent, ruthless killers. I sat there, really wanting Aigin to win. It's an emotionally engaging, fascinating and thrilling film and one of the best films I've ever seen. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a movie most of you have probably never heard of in your life. In fact, I wouldn't have known about it if it weren't for this one random internet list about the top ten "cold" movies. It hada trailer for this movie set to some incredible music, and thus, I was curious to see the movie. Now, this is a foreign film. It's a foreign film, mind you, that was made in the late 80's and that was never released on DVD stateside, so I had to look all over YouTube to find it. Eventually, I found it in a video titled OFEI_@$ (for copyright... on a film that no one knows about. Yeah, make sense of that), sat down, watched it in full... and oh man, this is one of the best made movies I've ever seen in my life. Yes, this is a foreign movie with subtitles. Yes, this is just a simple story. And yes, there are probably more amazing movies that will keep your attention. But looking at this for what it is, a coming-of-age story set to an old Sami (think Eskimos, but in Norway) legend... this is a great movie. It has good characters, the actors are descent (I think, this is in a different language after all), and the pacing flows pretty well. I even got to see some culture from a people I wouldn't have known about otherwise. And that's kind of cool. So yeah, if you want to see an interesting mythology movie (which are kind of rare. nowadays), check this out. You might have to do some searching, but I do believe it's worth it. P.S. There was a movie made in 2007 called Pathfinder, that is basically an American remake of this movie. Skip it. On top of having nothing to do with this movie, it just plain sucks. That is all. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Pathfinder

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Movie Info

Synopsis In medieval Finland, the Sami -- a tribe of peaceful hunter-gatherers -- struggle to survive in a frozen wasteland. Aigin (Mikkel Gaup), a young Sami, watches in horror as his parents and sister are brutally murdered in a surprise attack by the Tchudes, a rival tribe of violent nomads. Though Aigin flees to safety, the Tchudes follow his tracks to another encampment. Abducted and forced to comply with Tchude demands, Aigin feigns weakness -- while secretly planning his own shocking revenge.
Director
Nils Gaup
Producer
Erik Disch
Screenwriter
Nils Gaup
Distributor
Carolco Pictures
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
smi
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 7, 1989, Original
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Surround