At face value, Folktales is a film about sled dogs in Finmark, a wild place on the northernmost Norwegian border with Russia 200 miles above the Arctic Circle. But it’s also a film about the fate of three young people at a crossroads.
Main image: Hege and Odin | Credit: Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo
Drawing on the Norse mythology of the ‘three fates’ – goddesses who determine the destinies of all beings from the base of the world tree, Yggdrasil, where they weave and cut the threads of fate – Folktales benefits from a simple, linear narrative and vérité documentary style of storytelling with minimal interference. This allows the magical cinematography to breathe.
Watch the Folktales trailer here:
Directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing have crafted an honest portrait of the complexities of coming of age that is as uplifting as it is, at times, deeply affecting to watch.
We begin with Urðr, representing the past, and meet Hege in a state of grief and the “chaos” of being a young woman. Her words were so powerful that they still echo in my mind. We also meet Romain, plagued by fear of the unknown and lacking confidence, and Bjørn Tore who believes himself to be annoying and struggles to build friendships with his peers.
After artful exposition, we are transported to Pasvik Folk High School in northern Norway – a place that offers unconventional ‘gap year’ education to young people from all over the world. Here, students set about “waking up their Stone Age brain” through outdoor education and training the school’s 30-something Alaskan and Siberian huskies as sled dogs. We are given front row seats to see what happens when young people are removed from modern concerns, conventions and customs.
It is moving to watch the bond between dog and human develop, each naturally drawn to that which might hold up a mirror to their own foibles; shyness, boundless misunderstood energy, or aloofness. As the dogs teach the students “how to be more human”, the fate Verðandi steps in, representing the process of “coming into being”. It’s not always an easy ride. A particularly brutal two-day expedition during which students are required, solo, to build camp and fire that’ll withstand polar winter in the Norwegian woods with only their canine companions for company pushes the physical tension in an otherwise cerebral film.
The film follows through into Skuld’s territory, the goddess who represents the future, following the three teens to graduation and life beyond. Hege’s narrative arc will most interest those looking to live well in nature or pursue a career outdoors. To see the effort put into taking the next steps into adulthood is truly inspiring.
Folktales has a sense of humour, too: Hege choosing which three out of her seven mascaras to pack for Pasvik; the canine POV camera angles of dog kisses; conversations about beets and their colourful effect on Bjørn Tore’s digestive system. These offer light and shade in a story that is otherwise intensely told. One moment of levity during which a student from Spain complains to his mum about the seasoning – or lack thereof – in Norwegian food hints at other unexplored stories which may have offered further welcome perspectives.
This film could’ve been half the length – but then it would’ve overlooked a major supporting character: Mother Nature. Folktales is at its most heart-achingly beautiful when it captures the Aurora dancing, the howling song of the huskies, autumn leaves falling, sunrise reflected on the Norwegian sea, and the embers of flame floating in the night air at camp. These are quiet moments of grace often broken by familiar sounds of laughter or a Skype ringtone as students reach out to share these special experiences as a team. For me, the message is that beauty is found where human and nature collide harmoniously.
While I’m not convinced by fatalism as a concept – and would credit the students themselves with bravely taking control of their own futures – the mythology certainly adds a layer of artistic interest. It is said that the Fates gift all young people hope and a vision of the future to help them survive. If that is so, Folktales draws on these existing modes of storytelling to inspire any young person who might be feeling lost today to be bold enough to explore whether the restorative power of nature could show them a different, more connected future.
Folktales is in UK cinemas and on digital platforms from 5th December.
