Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The first time I saw this film was in the early Nineties on Spanish TV, and I absolutely loved it. It took many years before I got a video copy that I still have, but in recent years I never could find it in DVD here in Britain, which is a shame. I understand that the film was not widely released in cinemas in its time and remains mostly unknown to the general public, which is another shame. "Ofelas" is remarkable for its use of locations, the cinematography and the neat ambiance sounds that fill each shot, making it a real treat to the spectator who almost can feel the snow crunching under his feet and the icy cold air blowing in his face. The Norwegians made a beautiful film that surpasses in storytelling and historical detail Hollywood blockbusters such as "White Fang" or "Robin Hood" (Kevin Costner), made with multi-million budgets and big stars and enjoying expensive publicity campaigns. Mikkel Gaupp is excellent on his role. Both his boyish looks and the naiveté of the character at the beginning of the story make his performance solidly credible as a nobody turned overnight into a hero for his own survival. He weeps when seeing the carnage of his family, then panics when discovered by the killers and then runs desperately for his life without performing any astonishing stunts with the special effects that we have seen so often in Hollywood movies with similar plots. In 82 minutes we get a story that is poetic and full of action and suspense. And a breathtaking catalogue of views of real Lapland, with the Aurora Borealis included, instead of a studio fake with synthetic snow and background shots or plain CGI crap.

The photography is beautiful. The story hooks you very quickly. The movie has something for everyone: action, romance, nature, mysticism. I saw it 20 years ago and forgot the name. I posted on IMDb and another viewer knew the movie based on my description. It takes place in prehistoric time, but the characters are very human: you feel as if they are family. While there are subtitles, there is not much dialog: you can follow the movie very well without even looking at them. The photography is stunning. Not only is the scenery gorgeous, but the camera angles and the scene composition is wonderful. This is a movie which will bless you with its memory for the rest of your life.

Pure brilliance this is!Living very close to the land and culture that's described in the film I really enjoyed this film. The way everything's been explained and displayed in the film is very satisfying. And I might add that it's not required to have an interest in the culture to watch this movie. That is to say that the movie works on every level! Gaup delivers a very strong and entertaining movie. I only wish it can have a broader audience, because it deserves it. I have no problem recommending this film to anyone with a slight interest in movies!

Amazing isn't it? It takes a 1000 year-old Lapp legend to put Lucas and "Steven" Schpeilberg in their place. It doesn't cost multi millions of dollar$ to make a brilliant action film. It takes an intelligble script,sensitive acting and spot on directing (oh, and lots of snow). What's happened to the people who made this (including the producers)? Someday studios will realise that a good script and story will go a long way above a load of bangs and unrealistic computer graphics. Ah well! What the hey!