Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)
September 3, 2010Release Date
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)
September 3, 2010Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Happy People: A Year in the Taiga is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Fandor Amazon Channel, OVID, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Filmzie, Freevee, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel, JustWatchTV
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Werner Herzog
Narrator (voice) / Executive Producer / Director / Writer
Gennady Soloviev
Self - Trapper #1
Anatoly Blumei
Self - Trapper #2
Gennady Tiganov
Self - Native Boat Builder
Mikhail Tarkovsky
Self - Trapper #3
Christoph Fisser
Producer
Klaus Badelt
Executive Producer / Original Music Composer
Timur Bekmambetov
Executive Producer
Robyn Klein
Associate Producer
Thomas Nickel
Co-Producer
Nick N. Raslan
Producer
Charlie Woebcken
Producer
Alexey Matveev
Director of Photography
Gleb Stepanov
Director of Photography
Maxim Perepelkin
Editor
Dmitry Vasyukov
Editor / Director / Writer
Media.
Details.
Release DateSeptember 3, 2010
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 34m
Content RatingNR
Box Office$338,987
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga is a 2010 documentary film directed by Dmitry Vasyukov, with English narration written and voiced by Werner Herzog. The film depicts the life of the people in the isolated village of Bakhta (62.464463°N 89.002168°E / 62.464463; 89.002168) at the confluence of the Yenisei and the Bakhta River, in the eastern Siberian taiga. In particular, it focuses on the Russian trappers who hunt for fur animals, such as sable, and fish, depicting their cyclical, self-reliant life dealing with the subarctic climate and geographic isolation. It also briefly looks at the life of native Ket people in the village, and some notable people including an honored WWII veteran. The footage in the documentary was edited from a 2007 4-part television mini-series by Vasyukov.
The original film was conceived by two of the hunters and fishermen, Mikhail Tarkovsky (nephew of famous filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky who himself worked in the taiga area, inspiring him to become a filmmaker), who has lived and worked in the area since 1981, and Gennady Soloviev, the woodsman who has been there the longest and who taught Mikhail. Both men are featured extensively in the film, Mikhail also being one of the cinematographers. Tarkovsky has written and published numerous short stories about Bakhta and its people and the trappers and natives, which led to the idea for making the film series. Another film based on a novel by Tarkovsky, Frozen Time, has also been produced.
Since the popularity of the TV mini-series, the village of Bakhta has become a tourist spot, with visitors arriving by river boat in the short summer months. Tarkovsky created a museum there that features artifacts and exhibits on the life and work of the trappers, fishermen, boat-builders, craftsmen, and villagers. The museum features a workshop to teach young people practical application on how to live off the land, and to pass down its traditions.
Herzog's shortened English version of the film premiered in Germany in November 2010, had its United States premiere at the 2010 Telluride Film Festival, and the U.S. West Coast premiere on 6 March 2011 at the San Francisco Green Film Festival. It received generally positive reviews from critics.