Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

dickmacgurn Werner Herzog brings us to the Taiga, a frosty paradise in which modern day fur trappers use both old and new technology to thrive in an expansive wilderness much larger than the U.S., often at temperatures below minus forty degrees. These trappers are expert outdoors-men / survivalists / hunters that have perfected the art of trapping sable with the help of their dogs.I learned how to make and set various types of traps, build a canoe from hand, catch pike fish from a frozen river, make homemade insect repellent, protect my food rations from bears and mice, and much, much more.I have few if any legitimate complaints about this excellent film. Herzog doesn't fail to mention the cruelty that the animals suffer, including the poor hunting dogs which often don't live long in the harsh conditions. One of the hunters admits to feeling pity for his prey, but that he prefers slaughtering sable rather than farm animals, a job he had decades before.My favorite part of the film is when one of the hunters is making his way back to base camp through dense forest on his snowmobile, a breathtakingly beautiful commute to say the least. Another was when the camera goes underneath the frozen river to show the nets catching the pike fish. On New Year's Eve the hunters return to the village via snowmobile over the frozen river, and Herzog points out that some hunters make their dogs run the entire distance in a day, an astonishing 150 kilometers, (93 miles). No wonder the dogs often live short lives, especially if the hunters push them so hard. I did also wonder how long the hunters are expected to live.As a vegan, I feel especially sad that animals suffer to bring their furs to the market, but I didn't deduct any points for it. It's an excellent look at a culture that is as unlike my own as any I could imagine. 8 stars, definitely worth a second or even 3rd viewing!

Roland E. Zwick "Happy People: A Year in the Taiga" is the latest in a series of nature documentaries by Werner Herzog (here with co-direction by Dimitry Vasyokov), this one chronicling life in a Siberian village over a twelve-month period. Bakhta is located alongside the Yenisei River in the Taiga Forest, and the inhabitants there have been eking out an existence under some pretty challenging conditions for centuries now (this is Siberia, after all). We watch as they make preparations for trapping, build cabins in the wilderness, fashion out canoes from old tree trunks, fish in the river, fend off bears and mosquitoes, and store up supplies for the brutal winter to come. For this is life as it is lived in one of the most misbegotten outposts of civilization. As Herzog himself says, these people resemble early Man from a distant ice age. And, yet, as the title implies, the inhabitants of Bakhta are far from unhappy with their lot.This is reflected most in the many wise and canny observations about the value of hard work and the cyclical nature of life emanating from one of the town's most seasoned citizens, a sort of rural philosopher who's been trapping in that area ever since the Communist government dropped him off and left him to fend for himself more than forty years ago. It is his commentary, more than even Herzog's own voice-over narration, that draws the viewer into this strange and unfamiliar world, one that is striking in both its harshness and its stark beauty (the image of a massive river of thawing ice heading swiftly northward during the spring is not one that will be easily forgotten). This isn't Herzog's most innovative work by a long shot, but if anthropological studies are your preferred fare, this movie will surely fit the bill.However, a warning may be in order for the hypersensitive viewer: this is NOT a movie that comes with the proviso, "No animals were harmed in the making of this film."

Volod Saw this one a couple of years ago and was really stunned with the quality of this documentary.Movie crew lived through a year in Bakhta, small simple village of huntsmen and fishermen in Siberia, and they have done an amazing job of showing how simple life, hard (you bet) labour and everlasting circle of life make people... pure. Happy.There's not a hint of falseness, no pathos, no complaints. And that's probably what got to me the most: perfect documentary, no opinion imposed, just showing this life 'as is' - and the clarity of it strikes you, urban people, deep to the core.Must see, really.

octahexx This is the quality you dream discovery channel had..maybe they did years ago. We get to follow the lives of fur trappers in remote siberia. It gives insight to how we lived before the 9-5 jobs at least in scandinavia its probably the best wilderness documentary I've seen.Its down to earth and the scenery is jawdropping. Its a hard but honest life and a lot of humanity yet still the wilderness stares back at you from the screen.If you like documentaries with ray mears or expeditions with lars monsen this for you. Without the drama or the smugness of teaching you get to follow how they have learned to live with nature and not against it.And its not focused with misery just because they are off grid and not part of the consumer hysteria (amazing).Its nice for once not having to do a review to warn viewers but instead recommend it. Watch this you will not be sorry.