There’s this movie that came out the other day that, I think, didn’t have very good advertising and therefore, I don’t think a lot of people know about it (but maybe that's just my own assumption. I could just be missing something). It’s called Alpha. I saw the trailer earlier this year and was intrigued by it and told myself I’d like to see it when it came out. I hadn’t seen a single trailer, TV spot, poster, or anything since that trailer back in February or whenever it was. I kept forgetting about it until something random would spark my memory and I was like “oh yeah, when does that come out again?” That happened again this morning when I saw a picture of wolves and I was like “hey, there was that movie I wanted to see with a wolf in it. That should be coming out soon, shouldn’t it?” So I checked and lo and behold, it had just come out on Friday. Thus, I decided since I had nothing going on, I would see it that night.
Anyways, after that longwinded introduction, I’d like to talk about how it was.
First of all, since I don’t think a lot of people are familiar with it, I’ll give a brief rundown of what it’s about: Set 20,000 years ago, the story follows a young man, Keda, after he is left for dead after a bison hunting accident. He makes the long and dangerous trek home, befriending a wounded wolf along the way. The two of them fight their way through harsh landscapes, attempting to reach home before winter.
So... how was it?
I liked it. There certainly were problems, mostly with the story’s focus, but overall, it was a really good film.
The first thing I noticed and that I have the highest praise for is the cinematography. There are some stunning shots and camera work in this film. I mean, wow! Closely tying into that is the overall beauty of it. The lighting, the landscapes, the costumes, the colors, and everything. It was truly a spectacular film to watch.
Next, I have to praise the acting. There is not a lot of dialogue and what is included is in another language (if subtitles bother you, you won’t like this film). The acting is very emotional and clear with each character. You feel what these characters are going through simply through their actions and facial expressions; no speaking needed. The film is a very harsh reality of human living and survival, on par with Castaway. There are some pretty brutal moments and the audience really feels those along with the characters just through the acting.
Now that I have praised it, I have to criticize it. The plot was its main weakness. It’s not that it had a bad plot, but it was a little confused on what it wanted to focus on. The film starts out by setting up the idea that the film will be about Keda proving himself a man and a leader, but then about twenty minutes in, the wolf shows up and the focus starts to be on their friendship and how they rely on each other to survive. Then (without spoiling anything), the climax focuses on Keda proving himself a man while the ending focuses on the wolf again. It’s all over the place.
I could see that the film was trying to intertwine the two stories, but instead was telling two stories rather than one main story with a side story. I think for it to work, one needed to take a back seat to the other or get cut out completely. Personally, I think the focus should have been on Keda and the wolf. The story of Keda proving his manhood has been done a thousand times (for example, How to Train Your Dragon). It still could’ve been there, but it should have been a secondary story compared to the main one of forging the bond between man and dog (wolf). That’s a much more engaging story.
In fact, that’s what was advertised in the trailer so I don’t know why it wasn’t the main focus through the whole movie. It seemed like it wanted to be, but the climax (the most exciting and emotional moment for the main character that brings everything to a high) was all about him proving himself and had little focus on the wolf.
Anyways, the story wasn’t perfect, but I was still entertained by it. What was there was still quite good. Seeing the beginnings of one of the greatest relationships in history (man/dog) was really good. Also, it wasn’t totally predictable like you would think. I was caught off guard by a few things. The stuff with Keda proving himself was pretty cliche, but it was still so well acted that I bought it 100%.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes dogs or a good survival story (or just a beautiful movie). I’d give it a 7/10.
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