Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

source: Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

First of all, I don't want anyone to think that I don't consider this to be a film of the highest quality. It was extremely informative, and overall quite entertaining and well made. My quibble with it is this: not one single person portrayed in the film fit anything that I would consider to be a description of "Happy". In fact, most of them seemed downright somber if not dour the whole time. Perhaps the film makers got the sense that the people who lived in this remote Siberian village were, in fact, quite happy people while they were there making this (extremely well made) film, but that sense of happiness was not conveyed to the watcher. Their lives seemed dismal and harsh at best, and none of them had an attitude about life that reflected anything different than that they lived a dismal life in a harsh and unforgiving world. While it is a look at the way people probably lived several hundred years ago (minus the snowmobiles and chainsaws), I for one do not envy them in the least. I'm sure it can be terribly exciting to encounter dangerous wild animals and harsh unforgiving elements in the wilderness, but without ANY real modern amenities, the lives led by the people in this movie have to be without a doubt what most of us would consider to be mind- numbingly boring. Not to mention lonesome. Months in the wilderness trapping small fur-bearing animals with only the company of a dog or two, does not seem like the making of a "happy" life to me. I was expecting some sense of enlightenment to come across in the film as to why people who live in such bleak and harsh conditions would be in some way happier than the rest of us, but that never came. If you are expecting that sort of enlightenment, then you may be disappointed. However, the film does indeed prove to be quite engaging and entertaining, portraying the inhabitants of this region of Siberia as hard-working, industrious and without a doubt some of the toughest people left on earth. Your deer hunting, Cabella's swag wearing neighbor (or uncle, or cousin ...) only wishes he could be a fraction of the outdoors-man these rugged Russians are. It's likely that if a guy like that were to trade places with one of the trappers in the movie for even a single day, he would not make it through that day alive. It's a film worth watching, but I'm just wondering how on earth the film makers could describe these as "Happy People".

Werner Herzog brings us to the Taiga, a frosty paradise in which modern day fur trappers use both old and new technology to thrive in an expansive wilderness much larger than the U.S., often at temperatures below minus forty degrees. These trappers are expert outdoors-men / survivalists / hunters that have perfected the art of trapping sable with the help of their dogs. I learned how to make and set various types of traps, build a canoe from hand, catch pike fish from a frozen river, make homemade insect repellent, protect my food rations from bears and mice, and much, much more. I have few if any legitimate complaints about this excellent film. Herzog doesn't fail to mention the cruelty that the animals suffer, including the poor hunting dogs which often don't live long in the harsh conditions. One of the hunters admits to feeling pity for his prey, but that he prefers slaughtering sable rather than farm animals, a job he had decades before. My favorite part of the film is when one of the hunters is making his way back to base camp through dense forest on his snowmobile, a breathtakingly beautiful commute to say the least. Another was when the camera goes underneath the frozen river to show the nets catching the pike fish. On New Year's Eve the hunters return to the village via snowmobile over the frozen river, and Herzog points out that some hunters make their dogs run the entire distance in a day, an astonishing 150 kilometers, (93 miles). No wonder the dogs often live short lives, especially if the hunters push them so hard. I did also wonder how long the hunters are expected to live. As a vegan, I feel especially sad that animals suffer to bring their furs to the market, but I didn't deduct any points for it. It's an excellent look at a culture that is as unlike my own as any I could imagine. 8 stars, definitely worth a second or even 3rd viewing!

It appears that is can! However great this film is it has no comparison with the original movie - "BEST DOCUMENTARY" winner "Happy Peolpe" ("Schastlivie liudi") filmed and for the whole year lived by it's director - Dmitriy Vasyukov (Russia). Having been filmed in a distant Bakhta village in Siberia, Russia it portrays the lives of the real heros of our time. Real - in the purest sense of the word, as an an opposite to the fictional and dreamy sex simbols - the only male role-models we have had for centuries) - the REAL fearless man standing one to one to the REAL challenges of true, raw, REAL live. All of this framed by the absolutely mind blowingly gorgeous vastness of the Siberian nature. It is viewable on youtube in original language with English subtitles.

Co-Directors Dmitry Vasyukov and Werner Herzog takes us to one of the harshest parts of the world partly inhibited by people – Siberian Taiga. Documentary Happy People: A Year in the Taiga invites to follow how lives of local fur-trappers are effected by the cycles of nature. Brisk spring, shortest summer and cold fall followed by forever lasting winter – the only rule created by Taiga. The only imposed rule otherwise truly free people equipped only with individual values have to follow. Self-sufficiency and seemingly primitive methods perfected hundreds of years ago are passed on by word of mouth from one generation to the next. Trapping, skis making, canoe carving, food preparation or fishing are true traditions and legacy small community of 300 people wants to preserve. "You can take everything from the man, everything, but you can't take his craft." Documentary Happy People: A Year in the Taiga resembles raw video footage and thus serves the purpose very well. Seemingly wintry demeanor so common to people from the North is warmed by intimate stories and confessions – dog that becomes a family member, unwritten code of hunting, respect for the past, timeless traditions, unconditional love for Taiga and overwhelming enormity of solitude. "You see that everything is going forward as it should. It gives you a sense of job being done. And it is not you who are doing it, but you still feel a part of it." PopcornBanned.com

Interesting documentary on the lives of trappers and hunters in deep Siberia, along the banks of the river Yenisei, during the four seasons of the year. For instance, in summer, we see them fishing and collecting nuts and berries. In autumn, we see them preparing traps, collecting and splitting wood and hoarding food as they prepare for the winter, where the weather can be as low as -50 degrees centigrade. They have a hermit, mostly self reliant life style, living in log cabins deep in the forest accompanied only by their dogs, with minimal contact with other people. They also seem to be exclusively male. They have some modern technology at their disposal, though they also live and hunt with traditional instruments. Despite the title, they do not seem particularly happy, they look more like taciturn, silent and reserved, able to make a living with very little. The documentary also had a detour seeing the native, shamanistic, Vodka-ravaged Ket people fishing and building their boats (an interesting fact, not mentioned in the movie, is that the Ket people are believed by anthropologists and geneticists to be the closest ancestors of native Americans). Note: This has been widely credited as a Werner Herzog film, but all the German director did was edit an original Russian TV miniseries directed by Dmitri Vasyukov (he filmed them year round) that lasted four hours into 90 minutes for international release. Herzog also provides narration in his trademark German accented English, accompanied sometimes by his ponderous philosophizing.

Presumably the title is meant to be somewhat ironic; the people depicted certainly aren't happy all the time, but have a rugged life. The box is not entirely accurate; it says that it describes a way of life little changed for centuries. However, while the movie does describe a group of natives whose way of life is dying out, the film concentrates mainly on people sent in by the Soviet government decades ago to do hunting and trapping. Unlike other Herzog movies I've seen, the people depicted are far from quirky or weird. They are normal and rational people living the only way to live in their locale, trapping furs to sell, buying few outside supplies (such as tools and snowmobiles) as needed, but otherwise building their own cabins, trapping and hunting their own food, depending on their dogs but treating them without sentiment. The film concentrates mostly on the trappers and their routines; you see little of their wives and families. The people are happy in the sense that they have the freedom to act on their own instead of having to follow orders, I assume.

This documentary depicts the harsh life lived by some inhabitants of Bakhtia, Russia, a small village in Siberia (55 degrees north, 92 degrees east). Bakhtia is isolated, available only by ship and helicopter in the summer months. Otherwise the people there are on their own The movie concentrates on one Gennady Soloviev, a hardy fur trapper and hunter. Gennady is pretty much occupied full time just making a go of it--setting traps, stocking caches in summer for winter use, chopping wood, and so forth. Much of the year in the Bakhtia area is spent in sub-zero temperatures, with readings of -30F not being unusual. I am not too keen on being out at sub-zero temperatures for any great length of time. When Gennady sees that snow has damaged one of his cottages he has no problem with diving in and repairing it in -30F weather. The making of a canoe from scratch after downing a tree, using only an ax, was impressive--it is my observation that that is not a common talent in 21st century America. Paddling against the current on the Yenisei River looks to be an activity only for the strong. Watching this made me realize how far from elementary survival concerns most people in the United States are. The movie credits Dmitry Vasyukov as co-director. Vasyukov actually filmed all of the material for a four hour documentary and, for this movie, Herzog has taken that footage and edited it to 90 minutes, adding his narration. It would be of interest to see the original, since I suspect Herzog has imposed a certain idealized romanticism that reflects his own views rather than those of Vasyukov. For example, Herzog comments that, "They live off the land and are self reliant, truly free. No rules, no taxes, no government, no laws, no bureaucracy, no phones, no radio, equipped only with their individual values and standard of conduct." I think no society, however small, can function without understood rules and some form of structure. Gennady has the right to trap on a certain land area, such area being delineated by government oversight. The self reliance is not totally true. How did Gennady come by his snow mobile and chainsaw? Where did the gas come from to power those machines? Supplies were flown in by helicopter and ship; how were those supplies paid for? I wanted more information on the local economy. Since trapping sables was prized, I assume that sable fur was sold to high end consumers as part of how the trappers could afford to buy their supplies. As for happiness, I did not see these people as being exceptionally happy. Gennady admitted to despising some trappers that he saw as greedy. Is Gennady any happier than a computer programmer in Los Angeles who is passionate about her work?

The documentary starts in the village of Bakhtia at the river Yenisei, in the Siberian Taiga. (The Taiga is the surrounding wilderness.) There are no roads; the only way to reach Bakhtia is by helicopter, or by boat. And even boats can only get to Bakhtia during the few ice-free months; otherwise the river is frozen over. Bakhtia has approximately 300 inhabitants, and the majority of them make their living as trappers. Most of the film focuses on these hunters. And, say the trappers spoken to, they are happy. Out of all the opportunities available to them, trapping is the best way to make a living, they explain. One gets to work and live in the beauty of the Taiga, and the only person they must answer to is themselves. The nature and landscape seen in the film is of course stunning. The documentary was filmed over the course of a year, and across the four seasons, and that is the way the film is divided (starting with spring, ending with winter). The trappers we follow are seldom in Bakhtia. There is only a small window of time in which they can hunt, but most of their work is done preparing for the hunting. And they stick to the old ways, being almost entirely self sufficient. The only two modern technologies they use are chainsaws and snowmobiles. Other than this, the men make everything themselves; their own shelter, their own traps, and they catch and prepare the majority of their own food. The men trap alone, and only have their dogs for company. "You are no hunter without a dog," one trapper says. But the companionship the men share with their canines is just a bonus, because the dogs are used practically. Actually, the dogs' presence is discussed extensively in the film. One of the most interesting things, as one man discusses, is the relationship these trappers share with the animals. He explains that some men nearly share a plate with their dog, and let the dog sleep on their cot. Himself? He makes his dog sleep outside, even when it's very cold, and he does not feed it too much. Though, he still says, there is definitely love shared between him and his dog. The film also tackles a major problem in Bakhtia: alcoholism. As one labour worker explains, most of the old ways (such as the critical role of elders) have been lost and forgotten. So now drinking is rampant, perhaps because most men only have their work (monotonous, lonesome, and tough) and nothing else. One aspect in which the documentary is lacking, is that it fails to suggest any solutions (either from the filmmakers, those filmed, or anyone else) of how to heal the problems these humane and modest people face. Seeing into Bakhtia, I was both grateful for and saddened (mostly saddened) by my Westernized life. The trappers in the film claim to be happy, but how pleasant, truly, can such a severely isolated life, killing and constantly working to survive, bring happiness? I think what is meant, is that out of the opportunities available to them, trapping is indeed the best. Happy or not, without having to answer to any government, or anyone else, these hunters really are their own makers, in the good and the bad. "Happy People" is a rare, thought-provoking look into a type of life many would otherwise never be able to see. It's a solid, responsible, and progressive use of the film medium. But when it comes to deeper political issues, and discussion around them, "Happy People" misses the mark. screenplayisles.blogspot

Werner Herzog once again tackles the man against nature theme, as he did with Grizzly Man previously. In that feature, he followed a guy living happily amongst a group of bears, until a very unfortunate ending. This time, he ventures to Siberia to tell the story of sable trappers battling the freezing cold and other elements in the frozen tundra of the Soviet Union. The scenery is spectacular, and the day to day lives of the inhabitants interesting to see from a modern western perspective. I love the Huskies, who accompany the hunters during the brutal conditions with seeming content. As for the humans, they seem to be satisfied with their physically demanding but rewarding lifestyles. Herzog narrates, as usual, with an attitude of respect for his subjects. He spends the ninety minutes sticking to the visual beauty of the wilderness from overhead to underwater shots below the frozen river. An interesting documentary.