Der letzte Wolf

This movie is based on a semi-autobiographical novel and I think they did a pretty good job in turning a literary piece of art into a cinematic experience. This is one of the reasons I gave this movie 7 stars. Other reasons included great performances (extremely natural and believable), beautiful scenery and the amount of empathy the creatures from this movie were able to develop in me from beginning to end. Of course, all of the creatures except...humans. Ok, you can try to understand them, but if you are a sensitive person you can't help but hate every single character here except the Chinese student who adopted the little wolf. The main character is the only character with a sensitive heart and a pure soul. Yes, there is a little kid from the village, I'm sorry. I studied Chinese language and literature and I spent some time in China while I was a college student, I think this is is a very accurate portrayal of Chinese people, no matter if we are talking about people from big cities or countryside. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find a highly sensitive Chinese person. They can be wise and smart, but they are practical and cruel. And I couldn't enjoy the movie. Being a huge animal lover, my heart was shaking all of the time. The scenes are highly graphic, brutal and disturbing. I agree that these types of movies are necessary for us to raise our awareness about many things that happen between men and animals and to try to change and improve the relationship somehow. I liked the ending scene because in a certain way it blended sensitivity with "coldness", wild warrior spirit of the wolf was compared with still naive and culturally embedded spirit of the young Chinese student and they did that in a strong and emotional way. (I am not a native English speaker, so please don't laugh if something sounds strange in this review ;) ). All in all, I think that people who really love animals will have a really hard time while watching this movie.

This film, in general, is not bad, but the original novel's author is obviously strongly influenced by the Chinese Communism. He glorified the heartless Culture Revolution in last century, and never touched the sensitive taboos of those absolute-NO-NOs indoctrinated by the reigning Chinese Party. What we got in this film is a wonderful Inner Mongolian prairies life. Two displaced young Mandarin men were forced to leave their hometown and exiled to the far and remote Inner Mongolia province, trying to survive for the stipulated 2 years expatriation.

The production team of this movie had hired some specialists to train a bunch of wolves to play the main and critical roles of this film. I have also read some of the scandals related to the rehabilitation of those wolves after the film was completed. what I found the most pretentious flaw in this film is the female actors to play the Mongolian tribal women (like the females in "Spare Parts 2015). They are extremely eye-appealing and cosmetically pretty, yet the truth about the Mongolian females(like the females in "Spare Parts 2015), most of them are not as pretty as what the movie showed us. The other unrealistic part of the film is the kind faces and the gentle way of talk from the local Chinese Communist Party officials. They looked too civilized and too reasonably kind when treating the Mongolian nomad tribes.

The good part of this film is the camera work, the cinematography, it did an amazing job to show us the beauty of the Mongolian wildness, through the lens, it pretentiously beautified the tough livelihood of the local tribes, showed us the wonderful free spirit of those people. But in truth, is it true that the Chinese Communist Party would be that kind? When I watched this film, I have to remind myself that this film was not a documentary film, I had to watch carefully for those phony and false parts of it.

When the Chinese Communist Party censors every book, every movie, every TV program, every blog on line, many real things would be carefully omitted and avoided, otherwise, nothing could be released or past the censorship. So it also means that anything that have been approved must not demonize the Party but praise, otherwise jail time and long term imprisonment would be implemented.

So don't be fooled by this already heavily cosmetically beautified film, by its beautiful cinematography achievement, by those absolutely unreal Mongolian young beauties.

I have to admit, when I saw the cover I thought this was going to be a documentary. But it's a feature length film and it is a very well shot one. It's about nature, it's about humans and it's about wild life. Especially in the region depicted as someone else already stated well in their commentary to the film here on IMDb.

This will not be everyones cup of tea, but if you like nature movies with a dramatic twist, you probably will like this too. You can't compare it to Revenant, which is something I kind of expected to find here, but fortunately that wasn't the case. The movie really brings the animals to life, framing them in a way and shooting them to make them not only characters but someone to root for and feel for too. If you are an animal friend, I don't even need to be telling you this. If not, you might not be as moved as others ...

It saddens me that this film will not receive a wider audience. With an English title of "Wolf Totem" very few outside of France or China will be tempted to see it, but it is their loss.

Wolf Totem manages to bring to the big screen the majesty and mystery of wolves. But it is much more than a National Geographic or Animal Planet documentary. (Although those in themselves would be a great success.) It also invites us into the world of Inner Mongolia and tells a compelling tale of human love and loss. This is not Le Renard et L'infant (The Fox and the Child). It succeeds in telling a much grander tale. The acting is all very believable and unlike the usual over-the-top soap opera-esque fare available in most Chinese cinema.

But come for the wolves. I could howl their praises all night long.

-Wolf Totem (2015) movie review: -Wolf Totem is a Chinese film, made by the French director of Troy, based on the novel (based on a true story) following two Chinese students staying in a modern (1960s) nomadic group of Mongols who raise horses and sheep. They live in a somewhat dangerous area inhabited by Mongolian wolves, so when a corporate residential manager decides to essentially steal food from the smartest species of wolf on the planet, the wolves are forces to get into a turf was with the Mongolian shepherds. It is like the set-up for The Last Samurai if the samurai were the wolves.

-This ambitious endeavor paid off with a massive visual appeal, fantastic production value, and an incredibly emotional story. It was quite a great film.

-I'll go ahead and say this, if you don't like animal deaths or tragedy that might come with said true events surrounding the decline of two impressive races, Mongolians and Mongolian wolves, you will not enjoy this film. However, the story is well told and filled with smart writing to drive the point home and beyond. You will get more that you bargained for.

-The film takes a short while to really pick up, but it has a good pace for most of the film.

-The acting is very good. I do not know any of the actors or wolf actors in it, but the actors did a compelling job and the wolves were so much better than just having stock footage of wolves.

-The characters offered a lot to the story. Each character represents a human trait in a way. The main character, Chen Zhen, offers the hope in humanity and the attempt to see the best during dire situations. His best friend character is more of the ambitions, progressive look at those people who just don't care. There is the village leader, who represents the old ways and greatness of tradition. And of course, the sorta-villain who represents everything wrong with change and industrialization.

-The music is the best thing about it. James Horner composes one of his best, most beautiful, and most heart-string-pulling scores. It was actually how I found this film in the first place.

-Again, the design on the film is visually stunning. Very good practical effects, cinematography, and impressively good wolf training. Fun fact: This project was turned down by every major Chinese director because they thought it too difficult to train Mongolian wolves.

-It is an emotionally draining film and the true story makes it even harder to enjoy, but it is truly a compelling, well made, beautiful film that I think is totally worth checking out! -Wolf Totem does not have a rating, but it has a PG-13 amount of violence and language, so I would say PG-13. Makes sense.