Female Film Critics 24/375
Tradition goes head to head with progress — or at least inevitable change — in Norwegian writer/director Sara Margrethe Oskal’s intimate debut feature The Tundra Within Me. As it follows a feminist artist (Risten Anine Kvernmo Gaup) who returns to her remote far-north Sami homeland with her young son after many years in the city, the film examines the ways in which dearly held cultural traditions can be both empowering and stifling.
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Norwegian writer/director Sara Margrethe Oskal’s debut feature, The Tundra Within Me, is a tender love story set in Sápmi, the Northern Scandinavia region occupied by the Sámi (aka Lapps), an indigenous people who’ve struggled for centuries to sustain their cultural independence and traditional way of life as reindeer herders. The narrative and characters of The Tundra Within Me are richly steeped in Sámi culture and tradition. All of the performances are beautifully authentic and create great empathy. The cinematography of the icy winter tundra is gorgeous. This cinematic adventure into the feminism of another culture is richly rewarding.
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In her first directorial debut feature, Sara Margrethe Oskal turned to her homeland for inspiration. A former reindeer herder, Oskal left her Sámi community in northern Norway to venture south where she is a successful artist and writer. Now, it’s her past that is giving inspiration for her first film, The Tundra Within Me. Some of the conversation in the film revolves around female reindeer herders who don’t wish to be singled out for doing the same jobs as men. It’s an interesting dichotomy and one that is echoed well beyond the borders of northern Norway.
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In her debut directorial feature film, writer-director Sara Margrethe Oskal paints a vividly loving portrait of the Sámi community in northern Norway in the semi-autobiographical The Tundra Within Me Exploring the universal themes of belonging, love, and forgiveness, The Tundra Within Me is truly a love letter to Sámi people bridging their own traditions with the pressures of the modern world. It succeeds on so many levels, it is nearly impossible to single out just one highlight. It’s truly a must-see.
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