Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

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.

I was almost immediately enthralled with this documentary about the life of a trapper in the boreal forest of Siberia in the town of Bakhta (population around 300). I did not expect it to be so interesting, but looking at the credits of director Werner Herzog, 68 in all, I am not so surprised. Apparently I have stumbled upon a great director of documentary films that previously I knew nothing about. Also directing was Dmitry Vasyukov.

What makes this work so well is the clear, concrete detail shown as the trapper (Nikolay Nikiforovitch Siniaev, I believe) goes about what he has to do throughout the entire year in order to survive in the harsh climate. What must be done in spring as he prepares for the melting of the snow (and the mosquitos!) is very different from what must be done in the dead of winter when there is ice on the man's beard. Interesting enough during both winter and summer they fish the river for pike, breaking ice in winter and throwing nets in the summer, which they either smoke or feed to the dogs.

The dogs! In this film we can see clearly the essential symbiotic relationship between humans and dogs. It is not clear that the trapper would be able to do his work without the help of his dogs. The dog's ears and its sense of smell augment the man's knowledge and experience so that together we see them work as a team. When the man makes a mosquito repellent from the bark of a birch tree (I think it was birch) he rubs it on his dogs as well.

The amount of carpentry and other wood working that the trapper has to do, including making craft to navigate the rivers and streams, is surprising. Of course the traps he makes are made mostly of wood. He traps sable for its valuable fur. To do so he has to place traps over a wide area which means he has to maintain various cabins in the woods that he and whoever is working with him can stay overnight since the treks cover many miles of frozen ground. We see him knocking down the snow piled high on the cabins, repairing damage made by bears, etc.

The idea that the people are happy and especially the trapper cannot be argued with even though their lives are hard. The life's lesson here is that when a man is consumed with work that he has to do, that is necessary for his survival, and it is work that he can do, that he has developed the skills to do, that man is happy. He is happy partly because he is close to nature; in fact he is immersed in nature in a way similar to way hunters and gathers were in Paleolithic times. It can be argued that that world, however challenging, is one that is natural for humans. (Of course there are other natural environments, some very different such as an equatorial jungle demanding a different set of skills.) After watching this I intend to watch some of Herzog's other films.

By the way, Klaus Badelt's score is beautiful and haunting.

--Dennis Littrell, author of "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote"

Solid and straightforward illumination of the ways in which a few fur-trappers live and work year-round in the Siberian Taiga.

Starting in Spring, we follow the stoic men on their seasonal routines in the village of Bakhtia on the Yenisei river. The utterly unique sight and sound of that big old river thawing and moving and creaking under the warm sun is totally sublime. With the onset of summer, the villagers participate in a fishing frenzy while fending off massive swarms of mosquitoes by rubbing tar all over themselves, their kids and their dogs. As autumn brings torrential rains, the water level rises and the trappers anxiously begin boating their heavy supplies into the vast forest. They begin repairing their traditional traps scattered throughout the expanse while re-constructing their personal wooden huts, which they will use as shelters along their treks through the deep snow.

Other than one hilarious moment showing an alternatively modern fishing method, most all preparations for the long and lonely winter of work in the wilderness are performed according to very old cultural traditions. The simple and skilled construction of skis, traps, canoes, and huts from natural materials is shown with a patient fascination that draws us into a culture uniquely connected to the earth.

Herzog's narration adds insight and a quirky humor to this otherwise forthright film. His patent deadpan humor -- largely deriving in his over-enunciated German accent -- and his honest admiration of these self-reliant men living off the land in total freedom from materialism and bureaucracy is refreshing, even if a bit romanticized.

"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."

The documentary is following people living in the wilderness of Russia, not Soviet Union as someone had commented. Soviet Union is long gone.It is a reminder to all of us how little people need to live life in joy. I did not get an impression that people are struggling, it might seem they struggle to those who are used to the modern conveniences, which do make our lives easier, but not happier. I would not compare it to the Man vs.Wild documentary. The theme of the documentary: the purpose is life is joy, the basis of life is freedom. People are simply living in this remote part of a vast Russia and are content with their lives. This documentary is must see, a refreshing sight on the purpose of life. I would compare it to another documentary "Agafia's Taiga Life"that brings so many questions and answers about life to those who are seeking it. Sometime we just need to get away from the craziness of modern life with such documentaries to get a fresher perspective on life. It is also educational for many Americans who know very little about Russia.