Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

ma-cortes 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 .

Michael Neumann A group of miners from a 14th century English village in the path of the Black Plague follow the recurring dreams of a young boy and tunnel through the Earth into the 20th century, where they hope to appease God by raising a cross atop the highest church in New Zealand. Director Vincent Ward is a name worth watching, if only his narrative skills would catch up to his visionary style. His sophomore feature is no less haunting than his 1984 debut film 'Vigil', but likewise suffers from sketchy characters and an underwritten script. The villagers' quest for spiritual redemption has no real parallel in our own age (despite casual comparisons between the Plague, the AIDS epidemic, and the nuclear arms race), and the only reason for bringing them into the 20th century is to see their confusion with automobiles and television. The often striking visual scheme gives the film a strictly cosmetic impression of depth and meaning, but Ward's Little Nemo resolution, and the forced irony of the epilogue, only underlines the lack of a story built around his compelling, original idea.

babbelsquee Some of the critiques I've read of this, from others on the database, complain about the clumsy imagery or the accents. Get a grip. The point isn't linguistic accuracy, or any other kind of "accuracy" but rather the theme and motifs. In 1348 a frightening "illness" swept Europe, killing thousands. People didn't understand what caused the illness, only that it offered a horrifying death. This movie is as much a critique of "christendom" as it is of contemporary politics. If the US nuclear submarine is for some too clumsy an analogy to the black death, imagine the fall out of nuclear bombing as analogous to the black death. The pervasive silent killer. This movie was fantastic, for its imaginative plot, the interesting motifs and imagery, the concept of a small boy's vision, and the possible universes.

IslandMadMacs I sought out this film based solely on the wonderful reviews and comments left by fellow IMDb members, going so far as to pay a top premium to obtain a previously owned VHS. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.It's not that this isn't a decent film; in its proper context it's actually not too bad. But to slurp on the adjectives that reviewers have generously heaped onto this flick is more than a touch disingenuous. Perhaps it's real admiration on their parts, I'd rather not speculate. All I can say is - it's decent.Made along the lines of "Baron Munchausen" in its quirkiness and mixed metaphors, The Navigator tries to balance stark realism and half-imagined visions. Taking us from a plague infested 14th Century village to a modern 20th Century city via one of childhood's best fantasies: Digging a hole to the other side of the world.But there's so much clutter and unresolved thematic elements that it's extremely difficult to appreciate what is, or isn't, occurring on screen. Look, I'm not a pedestrian film-goer waiting, or expecting, to be spoon fed a story. But confusing will always be confusing and claiming pseudo-intellectual superiority because it *is* that confusing doesn't make it 'special by default'.Believe me, I appreciate the original idea, that's a big plus for Navigator. And thumbs-up for giving us the ultra-realistic world inhabited by the characters. Their filthy blandness stands out from the all too common "clean & crisp" that Hollywood mistakes for life in the middle ages. (Just how many times can you populate a giant castle with outlandish costumes borrowed from the yokels-n-yahoos who regularly attend the Medieval Festival?) These truths speak to the sincerity, honesty, and originality of the filmmakers.But the approach taken by a young Vincent Ward is just too disjointed to be considered a good film. Decent pretty much sums it up. However, it does give us a true peek into the future in another way: The Navigator is a proving ground for a filmmaker who will, in ten years, hit his stride with the amazing and genuinely stunning achievement --- "What Dreams May Come".