Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog (sharing co-directing credit with Dmitry Vasyukov) also serves as narrator for this documentary focusing on Russian fur trappers from the village of Bakhtia, located in the "Taiga" area of central Siberia. Living a hardscrabble existence—far from Russian urban centers and factory towns—these are "happy people," in the Rousseau-like sense of having all that they need provided by the land, and ancient folk-wisdom techniques that have taught them to manufacture everything required. They truly dwell in harmony with their untamed environment—or, at least the hunter-trappers do; some villagers, listlessly performing wage jobs, succumb to vodka and hardly remember the ways of their ancestors. Over four seasons, the camera follows latter-day mountain men Anatoly Blume, Gennady Soloviev, and Mikhail Tarkovsky (a relative of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky), who take viewers through an age-old, carefully maintained schedule: stocking provisions, raising their dogs, repairing cabin-shelters, arming traps, and preparing for months of deep-winter isolation while they harvest mink and sable. Backed by a stirring soundtrack from Klaus Badelt, this is a powerful, multi-disciplinary documentary that deftly mixes the subjects of nature, ethnology, hunting, and travel-adventure. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a “Chasing Spring in West Siberia” related documentary (74 min.), excerpts from filmmaker Dmitry Vasyukov's same-titled source film (7 min.), an intro featuring director Werner Herzog at DOC NYC (6 min.), text Siberia facts, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine documentary.] (C. Cassady)