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
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