Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I am really disappointed as the movie without audio was extraordinary. We started watching it on French TV (TV5Monde) and had to stop. The contrast between the life of those young Siberian reindeer-raising tribesmen discussing their affairs, and their words spoken in the French language and accent typical of 21st century French teenagers was unbearable. The contrast was actually destroying the authenticity of the movie. The producers totally spoiled a perfectly good movie with a ridiculous dubbing.I hope there is a non-dubbed, subtitled version somewhere. I would be very interested.

First, this was nothing like a documentary. It is a poignant story of a young man trying to grow up in one of the world's most hostile environments. In this country, reindeer is life. This animal provides everything to sustain life for these nomadic clans. It is their food, their clothing, their transportation; their money. Hungry wolves live on what they can get: rabbits; whatever, but when they can, they take down a deer, a feast for a starving pack. Young Sergeï has a lot to prove. He has to grow up and he has the lovely Natashya who loves him. Sergeï wants to prove himself to his clan and persuades his father to allow him to guard the herd of reindeer. Against the advice of others, his father permits Sergeï to do this. When Sergeï spots a wolf on a ridge, he takes his rifle and goes out to kill it, but soon discovers a lair with four cubs frolicking about. Although Sergeï knows what to do, he cannot do it. He is smitten and after a time, he and the cubs and eventually the mother whom he names Voulka, have bonded. He gives each cub a name as well. When Natasha discovers what he is doing, she is devastated. She explains that they don't hate the wolves. It's simply a matter of survival. It's the clan or the wolves. They must be killed on sight. But out of her love for Sergeï, and the wonder of seeing the wolves up close and personal, Natasha too allows herself to be seduced by these beautiful animals. But soon other wolves come and the pack not only drives off the herd but slaughters one reindeer. Sergeï is blamed, and when the clan realizes what he has been doing to encourage the wolves, Sergeï's disappointed father says "If you can't be a man for us, how will you be a man for a woman?" This cuts deeply. Sergeï pleads for a chance to redeem himself. He will take care of the wolves. At last his father permits Sergeï to go after the wolves, but warns him, this will be his last chance. Sergeï sets off in a frozen, stunningly white and bitter winter to accomplish his dreaded task. It is so cold that waterfalls are frozen in place. This film was shot on location under the most severe conditions and it really shows. Each scene is a painting and the interaction between man, reindeer, wolf, nature and the ever-encroaching civilization is amazing to watch. Warning: get a fuzzy blanket and/or a heavy sweater. You're going to need it.

We saw it in the original French and the soundtrack was far from easy - I could imagine it would have been worse in dubbed Californian! But the photography is superb. It was fascinating to reflect how such natural shots of wolves in the wild had been obtained. We saw it in a village festival in the east of France, an area in which shepherds are having increasing problems with wolves killing sheep, so it was a potentially sensitive subject in the community, and the exploration of the relationship between humans and wolves, and our need for dogs in parallel, is interestingly explored. Difficult to see how you can avoid sentimentality when you find humans getting near to sweet little wolf cubs!

This very good documentary was filmed on location in the north east of Siberia. It features a tribe called the "Evenes" who lives with rein-deers which get eaten by wolves. A member of the tribe, Sergueï is chosen by his peers to keep the rein-deers in summer and fall. One day, near his hut, he discovers a she-wolf with her offspring. He tries to tame them and manages to get closer to them. Later on, he meets the male but after the fall, comes what the tribe has always feared: a female deer is eaten by a wolf and some members want to avenge themselves by killing the beasts. As for Sergueï, he is torn between his love for the wolves and his duty to protect rein-deers.Cinematography is absolutely dazzling, camera angles and a superb score enhance the impression of magnificence and it's a feat the director could manage to shoot this beautiful story in such a freezing surrounding. The denunciation of ecological disasters like deforestation was also one of the filmmaker's goals.If you're tired of being manipulated by the Hollywood imperialism, why not having a break on the other side of the world with this harrowing story?