The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey

In Cumbria in 1348, with plague approaching, a small village believes salvation lies in placing a cross on a cathedral spire. Trusting a small boy's dream, they start digging into the earth. Where the tunnel comes out is New Zealand in 1988. Vincent Ward wrote and directed. The formal decision is to separate the times by image: the medieval sections are black and white, the modern world is in colour. The villagers interpret the motorway, a submarine and television in the language of their own belief. The film offers no science fiction explanation; how the tunnel works is never asked, and the subject is belief in a miracle itself. It belongs to New Zealand cinema's international emergence in the eighties and screened at Cannes. The cinematography and use of location are its strongest elements; the budget is small and the design ambitious. Who it is for: viewers who like fantastical allegory and formal experiment. Who it is not for: anyone looking for logic; the film never engages with it.