music, Scottish military music, Gregorian chants, and nineteenth century mining music, with influences from the Middle East. Reception The Navigator was officially chosen for competition at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, and although it won no awards it received a five-minute standing ovation. Caryn James of the New York Times described the film as "a dark, thrilling fantasy that places Mr. Ward... among the most innovative and authoritative young film makers", and gave it four and half out of five stars. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 88% approval rating based on eight reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. Awards Fantafestival, Rome: Jury Prize, Best Film. Cinema Fantastic, Sitges Film Festival, Spain: Best Film. International Festival of Fantasy Films, Munich: Best Film. Australian Film Institute Awards: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design. Fantasporto, Portugal: Best Film (1989) New Zealand Film and Television Awards: Best Film, Best Male Performance (Hamish McFarlane), Best Female Performance in a Supporting Role (Sarah Peirse), Best Male Performance in a Supporting Role (Noel Appleby), Best Cinematography, Best Soundtrack, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Film Score, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design. Critical analysis New Zealand film critic Russell Campbell argued that the film was part of the surrealist tradition; in particular, it rejected the "rationalism" which results in nuclear weapons. Influence on popular culture The song "Farside of the World", from Ayreon's album Actual Fantasy, was inspired by the film. The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey was shown on BBC One in the early Nineties. It was also shown as part of the Bedford Civic Film Festival in 1989. See also Middle Ages in film References External links The Navigator at Oz Movies 1988 films New Zealand fantasy adventure films Films about time travel 1980s fantasy adventure films Films set in the 14th century Films set in the 1980s Films set in Cumbria Films set in New Zealand Films directed by Vincent Ward Films shot in New Zealand Australian fantasy adventure films 1980s English-language films