Wolf Totem (2015)
In 1969, a young Beijing student, Chen Zhen, is sent to live among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia. Caught between the advance of civilization from the south and the nomads' traditional enemies - the marauding wolves - to the north; humans and animals, residents and invaders alike, struggle to find their true place in the world.
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Overrated and overhyped
everything you have heard about this movie is true.
It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Moving and visually stunning autobiographical film involving Mongolians shepherds and wolves, both groups affected by encroaching settlements and bureaucratic regulations enforced by the Communist Party overseers, during the Cultural Revolution in China in the late 1960s. A Beijing university student is sent to live with nomadic shepherds and learns their ways, including their interaction which wolves, which has a spiritual significance to them. When the ecological balance is altered by human greed, there are fatal consequences for both humans and animals.While the photography captures the rugged majesty of the steppes in all its beauty and the action sequences are thrilling, this man versus nature drama portraits its characters with veracity never resorting to superhuman heroics or histrionics. Life is frail for both humans and wolves in their struggle for survival, wolves are not anthropomorphized, the Mongolian lifestyle is not romanticized, there are no easy solutions.Perfectly acted with flawless cinematography, this a must-see films for nature lovers and those who are concerned about the environment. The rest of the viewers should also be rewarded by this poignant and compelling real life story.
The scenery of Wolf Totem was excellent in a classic IMAX style, back when IMAX was only used to shoot documentaries about wolves versus now when we shoot narratives about them..The action sequences were great as well. This is the third movie this year behind, Max and White God, that actually shows canines battling (This one being with wolves). It amazes me that PETA is not all over these people for showing animals fighting and getting kill in such a real matter. I'm not even a dog lover, but in this day in age it's surprising they do stuff like that on camera.I was also impressed with the human performance of the main actor and his female lead. I could see the passion the lead actor had for the wolf and I did not need subtitles to understand him, very good body language.It was a lovely moving painting.
Mongols believes in Eternity of Blue sky and idolizing ourselves us like descendants of Wolf and Deer. Just watched a movie 10 mins ago. Feeling is not excited. We Mongolians never built a castle for sheep.Trying to climb a wall, to kill and then skip away was our history. Sorry, but we let them build Great Wall. If they sending message they saved Le dernier Loup, again sorry. Mongol made history before Mao and it will continue. The movie about a wolf is made best with Grey Liam Neeson, by the way, he made also best movie against rulers with his role in Schindler's list. Watch Grey and compare it Le dernier loup. Sorry I should comment and have al right. Last wolf may be make money but not a best foreign movie to be honored Oscar and Canne.Sorry to say again sorry. Predators were always hunting a weaks, eating babies and surviving though.., survived around here at least 40,000 years. But we didn't aware why we still existed in a land of plenty dinosaur skeleton.
It saddens me that this film will not receive a wider audience. With an English title of "Wolf Totem" very few outside of France or China will be tempted to see it, but it is their loss.Wolf Totem manages to bring to the big screen the majesty and mystery of wolves. But it is much more than a National Geographic or Animal Planet documentary. (Although those in themselves would be a great success.) It also invites us into the world of Inner Mongolia and tells a compelling tale of human love and loss. This is not Le Renard et L'infant (The Fox and the Child). It succeeds in telling a much grander tale. The acting is all very believable and unlike the usual over-the-top soap opera-esque fare available in most Chinese cinema.But come for the wolves. I could howl their praises all night long.