Der Junge und der Wolf

Going through all my recorded movies I had a little trouble remembering the story and what language it was in ...Reading reviews here I saw how some people were upset about the use of Californian dubbing. So I played my taped version (with commercials!) and realise mine was dubbed in French (My native language) Now I do remember this beautiful story 'docofilm' would you say? I also remember resenting the use of non original language although French is definitely the language of my heart even if I don't use it anymore. Through the years my hearing has much decline and I much rely on subtitle these days so I was also very lucky to have them in English.

I tend to agree with the person who also made an observation about the French language adding that he felt Californian dubbing would have been even worse. But it is not a reason either way to give it a miss. It is a beautiful contact with mother nature despite is necessary cruelty.

This very good documentary was filmed on location in the north east of Siberia. It features a tribe called the "Evenes" who lives with rein-deers which get eaten by wolves. A member of the tribe, Sergueï is chosen by his peers to keep the rein-deers in summer and fall. One day, near his hut, he discovers a she-wolf with her offspring. He tries to tame them and manages to get closer to them. Later on, he meets the male but after the fall, comes what the tribe has always feared: a female deer is eaten by a wolf and some members want to avenge themselves by killing the beasts. As for Sergueï, he is torn between his love for the wolves and his duty to protect rein-deers.

Cinematography is absolutely dazzling, camera angles and a superb score enhance the impression of magnificence and it's a feat the director could manage to shoot this beautiful story in such a freezing surrounding. The denunciation of ecological disasters like deforestation was also one of the filmmaker's goals.

If you're tired of being manipulated by the Hollywood imperialism, why not having a break on the other side of the world with this harrowing story?

We saw it in the original French and the soundtrack was far from easy - I could imagine it would have been worse in dubbed Californian! But the photography is superb. It was fascinating to reflect how such natural shots of wolves in the wild had been obtained. We saw it in a village festival in the east of France, an area in which shepherds are having increasing problems with wolves killing sheep, so it was a potentially sensitive subject in the community, and the exploration of the relationship between humans and wolves, and our need for dogs in parallel, is interestingly explored. Difficult to see how you can avoid sentimentality when you find humans getting near to sweet little wolf cubs!

I am really disappointed as the movie without audio was extraordinary.

We started watching it on French TV (TV5Monde) and had to stop. The contrast between the life of those young Siberian reindeer-raising tribesmen discussing their affairs, and their words spoken in the French language and accent typical of 21st century French teenagers was unbearable. The contrast was actually destroying the authenticity of the movie. The producers totally spoiled a perfectly good movie with a ridiculous dubbing.

I hope there is a non-dubbed, subtitled version somewhere. I would be very interested.

The photography is magnificent. The story is interesting and the scenery stunningly beautiful.

The wolves are delightful and the shooting of them quite amazing.

I'd love to love the film altogether.

Sadly, though, it is dubbed horribly into Californian. Hearing Siberian tribesmen talking in valley slang is just so unsympathetic. Besides, the dialogue is hopelessly PC.

If only they could have given us the choice of the original soundtrack and sub-titles, the film would be a delight.

Why spoil something excellent by making it seem as low-life and trashy as Los Angeles???

You'd have though that somebody with the sensitivity to make such a good film would sense that it jars so cruelly. I've considered stopping the film and giving up many times, just because of this perverse language.