Navigator: Uma Odisséia No Tempo

On the Fourteenth Century, a small community is threatened by the black plague, which is soiling Europe. Griffin (Hamish McFarlane) is an eight years boy with visions. These visions show the salvation for his people: digging a hole to center of the earth and putting a cross on the top of a church. Griffin, his brother Connor and some locals starts their quest that brings them to the Twentieth Century. This is indeed a weird movie. Only yesterday I decided to watch it, and I do not dare to say that I liked or disliked it. First, because although being a very strange film, it is also very original. The black & white for the scenes of the dark Middle Ages and the colored ones for the present days is a technique very unusual. Second, the plot is totally unpredictable, with no clichés. And last but not the least, the unknown cast has a great performance. My vote is six.

This is truly a lost gem of a film. It is beautifully photographed, well-acted, well paced, and well written. It is a fantasy film that relies on the fantasy and not on the SFX budget. Something we see all too little of these days.

It is the story of a little boy that has visions during medieval times of a great city, and to save the village from the horrors of the Black Death, he, his brother Connor, and a few others must travel there and erect a spike on the cathedral there. Of course, this is a fruitless enterprise and Connor knows it, but no one would listen to him; they were stuck on a single idea and would hear nothing else.

Their journey to what turned out to be New Zealand is both humorous and sad. There were times when one would be brought almost to tears and at other times laughing hard enough to hurt, but the sad element was dominant.

As with all the films I like to review, it has a strong 'cult movie' appeal, but it is more accessable to general audiences than, say, Six-String Samurai was. Seeing that the Director (Vincent Ward) later did 'What Dreams May Come' (I'll review that one in a few weeks) this film deserves to brought back into the spotlight.

This film is almost unknown. None of the cast ever achieved fame, and Vincent Ward, while an able director, is not very prolific. However, I still cherish my memories of this movie. I saw it nearly 11 years ago, and every detail , and all of the performances, are still fresh in my mind. It is a fantasy of extraordinary beauty, which does not use a single special effect, and which conveys the thoughts and beliefs of "mediaeval" peasants better than a dozen high-priced epics.

i enjoyed this film when it was first released on video - it never seemed to have played the theaters in my college town.

i loved it!

i've often thought about it from time to time, and wondered why i never see it on TV.

it seems like a good film for the sci-fi channel or bravo (dear god, how many times can they run 'braveheart'???)

i recall it being inventive, well-acted, well-directed.

a pity it's not better known. heck, i don't even think it can be found at blockbusters now.

Very good film with interesting as well as weird plot , nice acting and exceptional , colorful cinematography shot on location and has the feel of a great medieval fable . As men guided by a boy's vision, dig a tunnel from 14th century England to 20th century New Zealand . This Time-Travel Adventure set in Middle Age begins with a real sense of wonder and intrigue with pest causing ravage and winds up with continuous feats climbing a cathedral and including a surprising finale . As a psychic boy called Connor (Bruce Lyons) lives in 14th century Cumbria (north of England) , a tiny medieval English village . Connor keeps getting visions he cannot explain , he attempts to protect villagers from the bubonic plague . His village has so far been spared from the pest , but the villagers fear its imminent arrival and seeking relief from the Black Death . With the illuminate young boy as their guide , a group (Chris Haywood as Arno , Hamish McFarlane as Griffin , Marshall Napier as Searle , Noel Appleby as Ulf) set out to dig a hole to the other side of the world . As in an age of darkness , circa 1348 , a motley group will face the ultimate battle against deadly plague . Then , Connor leads a tunneling expedition so as to fulfill the visions and save the village , but they emerge in a modern city from New Zealand , XX Century .

Gripping and evocative film about Middle Age and full of fantasy when a group of men from Dark Ages emerge in a modern city in 1988 . In Middle Age one young boy along with some reckless countrymen will take on an impressive fight against bubonic Death . It is a genuine as well as imaginative medieval tale written and directed with great sensibility , fairness and clarity . This one contains a Bergman style , as ¨Seventh Seal¨ comes to mind , as the first part results to be filmed in Bergmanian wake . It was not just the artistic vision or imagination, but above all , religion , God , devil and sacrifice . This engrossing picture contains powerful and haunting images , being divided in two parts : Middle Age and Modern Times . It's plenty of scenes that stay in the mind as when the group appears at the 'other side' that results to be 20th century New Zealand , as the appearance of Black Death and church bell conquest . This thought-provoking story deals with holy fate , religious awe , the passion , Catholic Church and several other 'Age of Darkness' issues . The interesting perspective is intimate and it lends a great deal of excitement to the movie experience . Beautiful scenery, tense , intriguing and a stirring climax lift this story . There's something for everyone here ; fans of history , fans of Sci-Fi/Fantasy , fans of medieval adventure should all find something to enjoy about this film .

Wonderfully directed is all strongest for being brilliantly photographed in an excellent black and white during Middle Age and colorful imagine for recent times , excellently shot by cameraman Geoffrey Simpson , filmed on location in Auckland, Mount Ruapehu, Tongariro National Park, Southern Alps, Waitomo Caves, Waikato, New Zealand . Emotive as well as atmospheric musical score plenty of religious sounds and chores by Tabrizi . The motion picture was stunningly written and directed by Vincent Ward , though on a short budget . It was this movie that convinced the producers of Alien 3 (1992) to hire Vincent Ward as writer/director , although Ward would eventually leave the set of Alien 3 after many creative differences with the studio . It's a masterpiece who made his major impact gaining international acclaim . The picture won several prizes in a lot of Festivals such as Australian Film Institute , Cannes Film Festival , Fantasporto and Sitges Catalonian Film Festival . The great filmmaker Vincent Ward has produced, executive produced and/or written and directed feature films including What Dreams May Come , The River Queen and The Last Samurai , developing the underlying material he chose the director, before acting as an executive producer on this film . Ward's films have earned critical acclaim and festival attention whilst achieving a wide, eclectic audience as Vigil (1984), and Map of the Human Heart (1993) and this The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988) . Rating : Above average but is deemed by many to be the Vincent ward's best .