Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Happiness

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010) - Vasyukov, Herzog
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Herzog's narration is always music to my ears. The actual music for the film, not. It almost ruins otherwise a fine doc about the trappers living in a small village in the Taiga. It's not as vigorous or focused as the usual Herzog doc. Basically he edited down mountains of footage the Russian filmmaker Dmitry Vasyukov to a digestible length, spanning the whole year living in Siberia. Many villagers make their income hunting for little furry animals in winter. They have to prepare it all year around- setting traps, getting provisions, move equipment, etc. There are other stuff- fishing, canoe and ski making and some village festivities. But it's all about men's solitude- beautiful nature, trapping the same way your ancestors have been doing for hundreds of years, drinking hot tea after exhausting trek with your companion dog by your side. What more can you ask for in life?