Der letzte Trapper

I stumbled upon this film one Friday evening zapping the channels on my sat-box, and it caught my eye. Figured it was kind of a documentary, and with "nothing better to do" in mind, I thought I would give it a try.

Some hour and a half later I sit in front of my TV, and don't regret my decision one bit. I feel many of todays films are so full of, pardon the expression, cr*p, but this film really gave me an enjoyable time, and such a peaceful feeling. Almost to the point I wanted to get my boots on and take a hike in the woods to get "closer to nature" :-)

I can highly recommend this film, especially for those who love nature as something more than a trip to the zoo or a hike through the city park.

I lately bought the DVD - the landscape is astoundingly filmed, the music is a little similar to the movie of JEREMIAH JOHNSON (the first lines of the music sound like stolen) but the behavior of Norman is sure sometimes very strange and "more than a little stupid" as to say for someone who spent a lifetime in the wild of Yukon: sledging over a lake that just has been frozen (!), pushing his sled up a steep hill..., sledging a crevice in deep snow..., trying to shoot an elk and not hitting it..., building a nest that Nebaska is trying to climb up and brakes down.... and most disturbing not listening to his fine subtle Nebaska Mary Loo....Anyway - Vanier has done a good job: he shows a periled area in the North which is vanishing not only by the loggers as well of climate change!

I have been scanning through the available channels on a Saturday morning, and got captivated by some interesting scenes and an unusual atmosphere at a German speaking channel. The movie was in German, which I can not speak, even though, I found the pictures interesting, and started to watch the movie. I did not regret. I have read through the some previous reviews, and I understand, the dialogs were not perfect, as the actors were acting themselves. Without having understood the dialogs and the narrative, I still felt I was watching something authentic and credible. I think therefore this is a great movie, and I am grateful for the artists who provided me this excellent insight into a wonderful and hard environment and an extincting lifestyle.

While many viewers found the film beautiful and made them love nature, it also should be a warning to us all if our children to see this disappearing beauty. Here is why. We depend on nature and animals to survive. Pollution, eating species into extinction and massacre of environment happens on global scale: sacred and very needed by life on Earth trees are being massacred by human predator. Gold mining, illegal tree cutting, illegal ranching in Amazon already destroyed a lot of sacred trees. Animals' habitat is disappearing with exponential (unbounded) rate. Films: "AMAZON with Bruce Perry", "The End of the Line (2009)". Most vicious predator (human) must learn to stop destroying its own environment. (Aside: the human is most vicious predator because it kills for sports.) While most vicious predator propagates with exponential (unbounded) rate, the nature and animals disappear with exponential rate at the hand of most vicious predator. Most vicious predator must stop unbounded (exponential) reproduction: it leaves no space for healthy environment for most vicious predator and leaves no space for animals. CONSUMPTION is not "cool" anymore. Echo-systems sustain the economies. Economies do not sustain the echo-systems. Bottom-lines and corporations only destroy the nature, environment and animals. In the past, we hoped that our technology would help us to live better lives, but as of today, our technology (better traps, binoculars, nets, better sonars to track our prey, better guns, etc) only leads us to the SIXTH EXTINCTION of all life on the planet, at the hand of the human. If you cannot farm it - do not kill it.

I stumbled across this movie on TV, and its pace and photography somehow captivated me - to be honest - I spent most of the movie trying to determine if it was a documentary or a poorly acted film. Having researched it, I now understand its concept, using the characters to portray themselves, which is what had me "confused" during my first experience. This said, the movie makers deserve a lot of credit for literally weathering the severe climate of its location as well as for some stunning nature photography. I agree with some of the other comments that the use of non-actors to portray themselves in day to day situations often is awkward as their embarrassment can be sensed, however I doubt that its credibility would be the same if real actors would have been used. The movie portrays the harshness of life in the wild, and documents a lifestyle that is soon to be extinguished by the ever expanding modernization. That is clearly shown when the aging trapper friend is shown using a modern snowmobile, and the frequent references to the pending retirement of the "last trapper". Enjoy this film for what it is, particularly if you have young children and enjoy a break from the ever present "Hollywood" portrayal of real life adventurers.