Scandinavian Film Fest 2024 Review - The Tundra Within Me
Images courtesy of The Scandinavian Film Festival.
Sámi filmmaker Sara Margrethe Oskar’s The Tundra Within Me is an impressive debut which neither handholds nor mystifies its audience. The film follows Sámi artist Lena (Risten Anine Kvernmo Gaup) who is returning to her hometown for an art project involving female reindeer herders. Lena herself was once a reindeer herder who now finds herself ostracised from her community. While the format of an uneasy homecoming is a well trodden path, The Tundra Within Me stands on its own as a unique cinematic experience, and an invitation into the Sápmi region which is homeland of the Sámi peoples.
The far northern climes of the world, cinematically speaking, have a tendency to be portrayed as stark, desolate, and dangerous — often with a quasi mystical element. Tundra and the North can spring to mind Scandi-noir tv movies, vague allusions to Sámi culture within Frozen, and - god forbid - anything Santa Claus. Certainly Santa Claus may be the foremost association with the word “reindeer” within the English language. In simple terms then — the northern polar regions have a strong tendency to be Othered within popular media. Even the way cold is portrayed in the language of cinema, the icy blue tones suggest some alien and cruel element. There’s something very satisfying and refreshing then that cinematographer, Anders Hoft, captures a very different tundra. The forest and snowy terrain aren’t captured as spectacle - instead the camera is intimate, often kept near eye level. The characters are warmed, not just by hyper-plastic Gore Tex, but also by furs and knit crafts which provide delicate splashes of colour amid the blue-grey tones. The snowy expanse feels like a genuine home for these characters rather than the stereotypical isolating space.
That’s not to say Lena’s journey is without isolation — just that the surrounding environment is not the cause of this isolation. Instead Lena’s isolation is a social one — it’s in the way people treat her when they learn who she is, the way they won’t meet her eye or talk to her. However it’s not the men who seem to take particular issue with her — instead the expectations of masculinity, femininity, and culture are borne down upon her by other women. This is a compelling and nuanced narrative about gender within Sámi culture and this film offers a never didactic window into first nations issues. The Tundra Within Me is an emotionally impactful, hopeful, and intriguing film, well worth seeing.
The Tundra Within Me is screening as part of the 2024 Scandinavian Film Festival. The Melbourne festival ran from the 19th of July-7th of August. For more info, click here.