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It's the first (and only?) film that's been made entirely in the Sami language - the indigenous people of the far north of Scandinavia, more commonly known as "Lappland". The Sami are the ancient tribes of reindeer herders with their own unique culture and language, quite distinct from the Scandinavian culture and languages.
Their traditional territory stretched from northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people
"Ofelas" is based on a thousand-year old traditional Sami tale of a young man who saved his fellow Sami from brutal invaders. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093668/
It's one of the most unforgettable movies I've ever seen - sadly, no Region 1 DVD has ever been made of it. It's only available as a VHS tape or a Region 2 DVD.
It's a visually gorgeous movie - shot on location above the Arctic Circle with ordinary native Sami playing most of the roles. The scenes of the young boy skiing to escape the barbarians who had just murdered his entire family are absolutely breathtaking - there were no ski poles in those days, skiing was done with a single wooden staff for steering. At one point he is down to a single ski as well, racing for his life through an incredible snowscape, wounded and bleeding.
I had the great good fortune to see this movie at an art house when it first came out (1987) and was able to borrow the VHS from the Public Library later on and watched it a couple more times - sharing it with my family. It is such a brilliant, amazing movie - I wish everyone could see it!
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