Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga: Directed by Werner Herzog, Dmitry Vasyukov. With Werner Herzog, Gennady Soloviev, Anatoly Blumei, Gennady Tiganov. A documentary depicting the life and work of the trappers of Bakhtia, a village in the heart of the Siberian Taiga, where daily life has changed little in over a century.

“If you like Werner Herzog then this film wonu0026#39;t disappoint. His style is simple, honest and transparent. He gives you a clear sense of the reality of what most people would perceive to be a harsh way of life in the Russian Taiga. We see humans who are connected to the cycles of nature, to the animals, the forest and to their traditions. There is a quiet wisdom and deep joy in this way of life and the film serves as a powerful contrast to virtually every other piece of media being made today. The film is like poem to a way of life that now seems like a distant dream. It is beautifully shot, with vignettes that look like they are living paintings; Russian characters from the time of Tolstoy or Dostoyevesky.”