With the Summer winding down, and Labor Day well in sight, are moviegoers nostalgic for an adventure set it the “good ole’ days”? Hmmm, not sure if they were all that “good”, but the emphasis is on the “ole”, er “old” in the week’s new release. We’re going way, waaay back with this epic, around 20,000 years to be exact to the “cave man” tribal days, when humans were both hunters and the hunted. It’s not fun in fur skin time as in the comic strip “B.C.” or THE FLINTSTONES, nor is it the fantasy of early man evading dinosaurs as in the ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. films or the comedy CAVEMAN (loved the stoned “stop -motion” T-Rex in that). . No, it’s a bit closer to the 1980’s double bill of QUEST FOR FIRE and CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, though more “family friendly” but tougher than the TV ads would lead you to believe). Plus it borrows an element of the superhero flicks in that it’s an “origin” story. But not about a “cosmic crusader’s” beginning, rather it’s the start of a relationship that still exists (and shows no signs of stopping). According to the filmmakers this bond began when a lost, lonely young man met ALPHA.
That young man in question is Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee), the teenage son of tribal leader Tau (Johannes Hauker Johannesson) and his mate Rho (Natassia Malthe) during the last Ice Age, somewhere in Europe. The story begins with Keda’s first (and perhaps last) buffalo hunt. When things take a disastrous turn, the film flashes back to several days prior. As with all the young men of the tribe, Keda must prove himself worthy of going on the hunt by sharpening stones into deadly spear-heads. He makes the “cut’ and says goodbye to Rho as he accompanies Tau along with some other “newbies’ and the tribal elder males on the long journey to find that herd. Along the way, they join forces with another hunting tribe (they’re old pals with Tau), and pick off a wild boar (though Keda hesitates at striking the killing blow to the beast). Tau points out a wolf pack that is observing the hunters from a distance, explaining to Keda about their leader, the “alpha”. The boy also experiences nature’s brutality as another young hunter is snatched away by a predator sprinting out of the darkness. Finally they encounter the buffalo herd grazing not far from a cliff’s edge. We’re “caught up” as Tau thinks that his son has “joined his ancestors” at the bottom of a ravine. The heartsick papa gathers meat and skins before he and the hunters make the long trek back to their homes. Long after they depart, the bloody, bruised, and battered Keda wakens. Despite his broken leg and multiple wounds, he’s determined to rejoin his tribe. He evades the beasts while trying to locate food and water along with shelter until the wolf pack finally catches up with him. Keda wounds one of them with his dagger as he scurries up a tree. When the wolves finally depart, Keda is shocked to find that the one he sliced still lives. He nurses the wolf back to health, as they form their own pack, two lost hungry wanderers uniting to survive while trying to find their families. But can Keda and the wolf he names Alpha return home before the brutal Winter ends their tentative friendship?
In his first feature as solo director (previously he teamed with brother Allen). Albert Hughes has crafted an epic adventure showcasing the beauty of nature and its cruelty. The images gleaned from multiple locales around the globe are stunning (in Imax 3D, the stars at night vividly sparkle and glisten, as though you can reach out and grab one), but the towering vistas never detract from this human (and animal) tale of unlikely partnership. Hughes elicits a compelling performance from Smit-McPhee, who carries the bulk of the story on his weary shoulders, emoting with his “ancestors”, that vibrant sky, and the enigmatic liquid-blue stare of Alpha. We see the wonder and danger through Keda’s expressive eyes as he matures from timid youth to quick-thinking and acting adult survivor. Smit-McPhee share a believable paternal bond with Johannesson who’s tough and surprisingly tender as his father and tribal leader, while Malthe is a nurturing though worried mother. As I mentioned earlier, this is not the sweet tale of inter-species bonding being sold in the previews and trailers. It’s a harsh, cruel young world that Keda and Alpha must navigate, with death hiding from every rock and shrub. A fall into a frozen body of water is not for the claustraphobic (flashbacks to the second OMEN flick), and a moonlit encounter with a hungry pack plays like a hellish nightmare (those red glowing eyes). All highlighted in the suburb cinematography by Martin Gschlacht. The screenplay by Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt from a story by Hughes never drags even as it takes a moment or two for some whimsical sequences that are “first” in the man/dog origin such as the first bowl of water, first “fetch”, and so forth. The story of first friendship is both an intimate tale of survival and a thrilling spectacle of that simpler time. And at a taut 90 minutes, it’s a great movie night for the family (well, for the grade school-aged tots). The next time you look past that cold nose into those glistening eyes so delighted to see you, you might just see more than a smidge of ALPHA in your best furry friend.
4 Out of 5
