Il grande Nord

Many here complain for the bad acting. This is Not a Hollywood film made in a Studio.. Real Nature , Real Weather conditions , Real People, an unbelievable photography and amazing soundtrack! No CGI, No nonless talkings. What do you need more??

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.

I didn't know how to rate this film since the photography, landscapes, animals etc... were fabulous. However, the storyline was a pretty flat. The premise that trappers are needed to keep nature in balance is absurd. Nature does that all by itself without human intervention. It also bugged me that the trapper kept getting his dogs in deadly situations. I wondered how many sled dogs were actually injured in the making of this film.

I really liked the trapper's native wife and wish she had a bigger role in the film. She was a very interesting character, but she basically just step and fetched for the trapper all day long. The trapper had a gorgeous canoe, and great dogs too.

The film is basically about a bunch of old guys who don't want to leave the wilderness. However, judging by all the trouble they get into, I think it is high time they move to a retirement community with safe activities overlooking the mountains!

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!