THE OVERLOOKED: The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey-Re-worked

"THE OVERLOOKED"

This is a look at films that I personally enjoyed however some out there have never heard of them and I feel that they deserve another look at.

The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)

  90 min  -  Action | Adventure | Drama

              NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH DISNEY'S
             "FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR"

This film I saw when I was Assistant Manager of Varsity Video in beautiful Vancouver BC.

We were known for getting obscure movies in like John Waters "Pink Flamingos" or Penthouse's "Caligula"

This was in our "Foreign" section not hearing of Vincent Ward, however finding the plot interesting, I took it home.

From the opening I was struck by the Cinematography and the music.

It is the story of a young boy Griffin(Hammish Mcfarlane)who tells a story of hope to his fellow men in his town five to be precise.The story is  a dream that Griffin has about the The "Death"

They are compelled by his dreams he is having about raising the offering over the church and thus eliminating the "Death".

This "Death" they speak of is "The Black Plague" which was around in 1348 which is when the movie takes place.

Their journey is long and tiresome however they never falter from their path and know their destiny awaits.I was interested in watching this initially as the copy that we had at the store was actually a bad copy as it was all in black and white.

Originally as it was filmed is that when they are living the dream it is in color and when the story is happening it is in black and white.

However I was so compelled by the movie I watched it a 2nd time and understood the story, much to my surprise when I did see some reviews about was confused when others were talking about the color scenes.

This is quite easily  in my top 5 personal choice films of all time, I just watched it again tonight for maybe the 50th time just to "Refresh" my memory of this great film.

In just the opening moments of the film we are pulled into this world with the editing and the music all combined together to mash together some of the parts of the film that are important to the rest of the film.
Where  some films may take a few series to get all the facts together this one wraps it up in 90 minutes.

This is a list of awards nominations and wins for this movie:

Australian Film Institute
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1988	Won	AFI Award	Best Achievement in Cinematography Geoffrey Simpson
			Best Achievement in Costume Design Glenys Jackson
			Best Achievement in Editing John Scott
			Best Achievement in Production Design Sally Campbell
			Best Director Vincent Ward
			Best Film John Maynard
	Nominated	AFI Award	Best Actor in a Lead Role Hamish McFarlane
			Best Actor in a Supporting Role Paul Livingston
Cannes Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1988	Nominated	Palme d'Or	Vincent Ward
Fantafestival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1988	Won	Best Film	Vincent Ward
Fantasporto
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1989	Won	Audience Jury Award	Vincent Ward
		International Fantasy Film Award	Best Cinematography Geoffrey Simpson
	Nominated	International Fantasy Film Award	Best Film Vincent Ward
New Zealand Film and TV Awards (I)
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1989	Won	Film Award	Best Cinematography Geoffrey Simpson
			Best Contribution to a Soundtrack Dick Reade
			Best Director Vincent Ward
			Best Editing John Scott
			Best Film John Maynard
			Best Film Score Davood A. Tabrizi
			Best Performance, Female in a Supporting Role Sarah Peirse
			Best Performance, Male Hamish McFarlane
			Best Performance, Male in a Supporting Role Noel Appleby
			Best Production Design Sally Campbell
			Best Screenplay - Original Kely Lyons Geoff Chapple Vincent Ward
Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1988	Won	Best Film	Vincent Ward

(Source:IMDB(or)Internet Movie Database)



I hope you join me once again on my venture to find

                          "THE OVERLOOKED"                    

Sincerely

Anthony Nadeau