Instead of building characters’ personalities or motivations, the movie relies on Christianity to tell its story of human sacrifice, and the only time the movie presents native culture and that religion together, it presents Christianity as the more compassionate faith. Instead, the movie’s most prevalent theme is Christian faith and its signifiers: crosses marking people’s graves and worn around people’s necks the Christmas holiday and the church traditions held around it prayers at people’s bedsides. The film begins with voiceover from an unseen native narrator who praises Seppala for his embrace of native culture, but that construct is abandoned midway through the film, and feels particularly disrespectful given how little interest the movie actually has in that way of life. The Great Alaskan Race tries to make a dramatic narrative out of this story, but the film doesn’t provide any depth to either its characters, and without that emotional investment from the viewer, the whole story falls flat. Will Nome be saved? Can Leonhard win the “race against death”? Damn you!” Leonhard proclaims after his wife passes, but he returns to his faith during the journey, which captivates the entire country. That is why, when diphtheria hits the town and begins endangering children’s lives-including Sigrid’s-Leonhard volunteers to make the trek from Anchorage to Nome, in temperatures that dip below –80☏, with a team of sled dogs who might die under these conditions. Instead, the family’s sole quality is their Christian religion-Sigrid loves going to church, begging her father to attend more services-and their selflessness. Young Sigrid (Emma Presley) doesn’t remember her mother, and Leonhard doesn’t incorporate much of his wife’s native culture into her upbringing. His wife mysteriously falls ill and dies, leaving Seppala to raise their daughter alone in a town that is being transformed into a mining operation. A heralded musher, he has won the Alaskan Sweepstakes Race in the past, but only a few months after his wife gives birth to their daughter, tragedy strikes. For the first 45 minutes or so, we see Seppala’s life cycle from joy to tragedy-he’s married to a native woman, living off the land in Alaska and forming a bond with the animals who live there. Presley focuses his story on musher Leonhard Seppala, who he himself plays in the film. The mushers and dog teams that transported diphtheria vaccine 700 miles from Anchorage to Nome are given the hero treatment here, and they certainly deserve praise-but this movie is so superficially constructed that it’s impossible to feel any empathy for any character onscreen. Shipping to Canada is a flat rate of $14.99 and all other countries are $19.99 and there is also no extra charge when shipping more than one item.Īll orders are shipped promptly using the United States Postal Service.The Great Alaskan Race is a commendable passion project from filmmaker Brian Presley, a film dedicated to the “unsung heroes” who helped save the Alaskan city of Nome from a diphtheria outbreak in the early 20th century. We can ship to virtually any address in the world. If your order is less than $15.00 we offer Standard Shipping within the U.S at flat rate of only $4.99. Your order total must be $15.00 or more to qualify for the Free Shipping promotion. Posterazzi is offering Free Shipping on all U.S. We will respond quickly with instructions for how to return items from your order. If you need to return an item, please Contact Us with your order number and details about the product you would like to return. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days). You should expect to receive your refund within 2 weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. We offer a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee so that you can always buy with confidence. You may return any items within 30 days of delivery for an exchange or a full refund.
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