Although he took a short villainous break for last month’s Jack Reacher, documentarian extraordinaire Werner Herzog is back in the wilderness for his next film, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga. Co-directed with Dmitry Vasyukov, the project sees them explore the remote Siberian landscape of Taiga.
Premiering way back at San Francisco Green Film Festival in March of 2011, it’s been a long road to hit screens, but Music Box Films acquired the project and finally plans a release later this month and with the currently dry outlook in cinema, this one looks like a major bright spot. Equipped with his usual voiceover, Herzog looks to completely transport us to a little-visited place once again. Check it out below, along with the poster.
Synopsis:
With Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, Werner Herzog takes viewers on yet another unforgettable journey into remote and extreme natural landscapes. The acclaimed filmmaker presents this visually stunning documentary about the life of indigenous people living in the heart of the Siberian Taiga. Deep in the wilderness, far away from civilization, 300 people inhabit the small village of Bakhtia at the river Yenisei. There are only two ways to reach this outpost: by helicopter or boat. There‘s no telephone, running water or medical aid, The locals, whose daily routines have barely changed over the last centuries, live according to their own values and cultural traditions. With insightful commentary written and narrated by Herzog, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga follows one of the Siberian trappers through all four seasons of the year to tell the story of a culture virtually untouched by modernity.
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga arrives on January 25th.