r/alaska • u/Wikamania • 6d ago
piggy backing off of the post here about how wild it was to grow up in Alaska in pre90s. Excluding The Frozen Ground, can anyone think of any good movies that capture the vibe?
Title.
6
u/FroznAlskn 6d ago
Ok so this movie isn’t really what you’re looking for but at least it’s based in Alaska. Also, I feel like it probably needs several trigger warnings so at your own risk.
2
1
u/Invincible_Delicious 6d ago
Why I have never heard of this ?
3
u/FroznAlskn 6d ago
They played it in Fairbanks years and years ago. I watched it with a group of my friends and one of them actually yelled “WHAT THE FUCK?!” at the end. It is NOT a feel good movie. You’ve been warned.
1
1
4
4
3
u/pdxnormal 6d ago
Runaway Train
2
u/wooltab 5d ago
Very few movies capture the geography vibe of AK better than this.
3
u/pdxnormal 5d ago
I agree. I watched it when it came out then ended up living in AK for 16 years beginning 1989. Took the train from Anc to Seward several times. Incredible scenery!
2
u/Scott_in_Tahoe 6d ago
This one, Salmonberries: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102829/?ref_=ttpl_ov_bk
2
u/glacial_penman 5d ago
Nobody liked Mystery Alaska? Honestly while the overall plot lacked that true detective series captures the Arctic reallly well.
1
u/ThurmanMurman907 3d ago
mystery, Alaska the Canadian hockey movie? no, that doesn't capture the alaska vibe at all lol
2
u/Big-medicine 5d ago
My two cents: Pathfinder, a 1987 Finnish film, so it’s not an Alaskan film per se, but takes place in the far North of Finland during the early Iron Age.
The cast is all Sami (indigenous people of Finland) and the script is in their native dialect. My dad took me to see a screening of it back in 1991 or 92 when I was very young, and it left a deep impression about how people live in the North Winters. There was a Q&A session after the movie played with the director and one of the actors, and they talked a lot about the similarities between Sami and Alaska Native people and traditions.
I rewatched it a few years ago and it really holds up! It’s an adventure movie with strong undercurrents of Shamanism and Boreal vibes.
2
1
1
1
1
u/myguitar_lola 5d ago edited 5d ago
Edit: My bad I totally jumped straight to the one you asked not to mention lol
There are some movie rec subs that would probably be interested in seeing a final list (not a cross post).
My contribution: The Frozen Ground
1
1
1
u/Happy_and_bright 5d ago
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0102165/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1
Johnny's Girl
I haven't seen the movie in a long time.
It is based on Kim Rich's book about life with her father and the shady Anchorage world of the 60s. The book was good.
1
1
1
u/dixbietuckins 2d ago
Stand by me isn't set there, but thats kinda what childhood felt like. Saw some crazy shit that didnt register like it would as an adult. Everything else felt about the same.
1
1
1
1
-1
12
u/oldcrow907 6d ago
Honestly I think Insomnia with Al Pacino captures how constant daylight can drive some ppl crazy, pretty sure it’s anecdotal but if I was a noob, I’d probably go through the same thing. Absolutely didn’t believe Robin as a psychopath tho 🥹