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.
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.