Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

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  • Opened January 25, 2013 (NY)
  • 1 hr 30 min
  • NR

  • Parents: Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+. More on child suitability

  • With HAPPY PEOPLE, Werner Herzog takes viewers on yet another unforgettablejourney into remote and extreme natural landscapes. The acclaimed filmmakerpresents this visually stunning documentary about the life of indigenous people living in the heart of the Siberian Taiga. Deep in the Siberian wilderness, far away from civilization, 300 people inhabit the small village of Bakhta at the river Yenisei. There are only two ways to reach this outpost: by helicopter or boat. There‘s no telephone, running water or medical aid. The locals, whose daily routines have barely changed over the last centuries, live according to their own values and cultural traditions. Withinsightful commentary written and narrated by Herzog, HAPPY PEOPLE follows one of the Siberian trappers through all four seasons of the year to tell the story of a culture virtually untouched by modernity.
    *Note: In Russian, subtitled in English with English Narration Full synopsis

  • Cast: Werner Herzog
  • Director: Werner Herzog, Dmitry Vasyukov
  • Genres: Documentary

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Breathtaking Look at Man and His Dog Surviving in Siberia

by pedsarq

Deep in the heart of Siberia, reachable only by helicopter and boat for 3 mos. of the year, live 300+ villagers who survive by hunting sable and squirrels with their dogs and making the most of what...

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Critic Reviews

88
Chicago Sun-Times
|

Like "Grizzly Man," Herzog's latest documentary, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga is mostly built around another filmmaker's priceless footage. Read full review

80
NPR
| Scott Tobias

At bottom, though, Happy People celebrates the hard-won freedoms that living in the Taiga offers those who are willing to confront its challenges. There are few places on the planet where the strictures of society don't apply, and the trade-off for fending off bears and minus-50-degree weather is the opportunity to lead a pure, solitary life. Read full review

80
Arizona Republic
|

Herzog’s longing for the ideological purity in which these lives are lived, free of paperwork and bureaucracy, taxes and technology, drives the film, which lacks an overall story arc. And that longing makes the title’s veracity a little suspect. Read full review

75
New York Post
| Farran Smith Nehme

The film is both elegiac and amazingly retro, like the nature specials that baby boomers were weaned on - although it's not for animal lovers, unless you have a specific grudge against sables. "Happy People" is the title, but it's virtually all men. Read full review

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Photos

A scene from "Happy People: A Year in the Taiga."