Mystery of the Wolf (2006)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good movie but grossly overrated

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The Mystery of the Wolf is a strange title for this film. So indeed are the comments made upon it, although at the time of writing it has only received one review online from a professional source, and only one, apart from this, from users.While there is a strong story line about the protection of a pair of wolves seen by a young girl, the wolf, and especially two wolf cubs separated from their mother, seem to me to stand for the separation of the girl from her mother when she was an infant, and the eventual reconciliation with her. It is not a film about wolves but one which uses the motif of the wolf and her cubs to parallel the interaction between Salla and her natural mother. Wolves are a vehicle to look at issues about being adopted, about feelings towards the mother who (through no fault of her own) abandoned Salla, feelings towards adoptive parents, issues about what happens if you are adopted and then a child is born to the adoptive parents, as well as all the emotions and conflicts which adoptive parents themselves may go through. It is also a story of a feisty girl who stands up for herself and others, human and animal.On top of all that the photography is superb – a real sense of what it is like to live in Lapland. And the acting by the girl who plays Salla is brilliant. One strange fact. The British DVD case gives the film a PG rating. The disc itself is rated 15! It is clearly a PG film, and it is a simple tale, one which shows that W.G Fields's comment about not working with children or animals does not necessarily hold true. Nonetheless, even if it is not likely to be up with the academy winner, it is a moving and thought provoking film.

Wolves have long evoked both fear and admiration as symbols of beauty and danger. Their image has changed drastically through the centuries – from creator and helper to symbol of evil, from predator to prey, from legend to icon. Director Raimo O. Niemi (The Blow-flower Boy and the Sky Mechanic) has mainly dabbled in television, but Mystery Of The Wolf, finally released in the UK after a four-year absence, offers a glimpse at this remarkable animal, along with its complex and ever-changing relationship with humans.Mystery Of The Wolf will appeal to children and animal lovers mostly, but the beautiful landscapes and some notable performances by its cast should brighten up any rainy afternoon. DW