Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

  • Director: Werner Herzog, Dmitry Vasyukov
  • Writer: Werner Herzog,Dmitry Vasyukov,Rudolph Herzog
  • Countries of origin: Germany
  • Language: English, Russian
  • Release date: November 15, 2012
  • Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Aspect ratio: 1.85 : 1
  • Also known as: Lyckliga människor
  • "Pain and Happiness" is a book written by the famous host Bai Yansong. Bai Yansong reviewed the painful and happy years of his ten years as a newsman in the book. After graduating from university in 1989, he was assigned to China Broadcasting News as a news program host for CCTV. It tells the stories behind the news, the lives of people around him such as Shui Junyi , Jing Yidan , Fang Hongjin , Cui Yongyuan , etc., as well as his hobbies, ideals, and family. His sharp and finishing comments are like doing news. The program, this autobiography is not a simple experience and narrative, but a product that integrates feelings and speculations. 

    Details

    • Release date November 15, 2012
    • Filming locations Bakhta Village, Siberia, Russia
    • Production companies Studio Babelsberg

    Box office

    Gross US & Canada

    $338,987

    Opening weekend US & Canada

    $10,481

    Gross worldwide

    $338,987

    Movie reviews

     ( 26 ) Add reviews

    • By Lola 2022-12-19 14:14:24

      The secret to happiness.

      At first, I was attracted by the name, or the word "happy". I didn't know what kind of film this was, or even a documentary. Just download it in a hurry to your computer and watch it when you're bored on vacation. It's been a year and I just finished reading it today. All I knew at the time was that I was not happy. So I want to see how happy people live, and I want to be as happy as they are. A year later, I am still unhappy. In the evening, the sudden and unprovoked depression struck me...

    • By Orpha 2022-12-13 23:30:34

      The simpler the happier

      The tranquility in this icy world, unpretentious but fascinating.

      It's really a white paradise, the hunters and cabins in European fairy tales are probably like that, right? I really yearn for the kind of life that is simple and full of self-sufficiency every day.

      Of course, only when tired.

      I remember a few days ago, when I was chatting with a friend, she said: "I don't know when it will start. It seems that girls of our generation have begun to yearn for the...

    • By Tobin 2022-12-07 14:39:59

      happy people

      I used to wonder why Russians are so addicted to vodka. The proverb says that on a winter night, a bachelor in Russia is more willing to hold a bottle of vodka than a wife, and a person with a wife becomes a bachelor the next day.

      It is only now that I really realize that vodka is their heartwarming wine. The strong desire of the Russians to survive and the coldness of Siberia are tempered by each other. Probably only it can resist this harsh...

    • By Eric 2022-12-04 07:17:35

      Happy back to basics

      I just watched it today, it is still Herzog's style, restrained and calmly recording the life of the people in a village throughout the year, there are industrious, alcoholic opportunists, and hunters say themselves. The secret of being able to live happily in this vast Siberian coniferous forest is actually: diligence, taking proper measures, and adapting to the seasons and the growth of all things. It is very similar to our Chinese Taoist culture, and Herzog spent a whole year in order to...

    • By Yvette 2022-11-18 09:45:55

      "Heavy snow, happy sky" - "Happy People"

      Although the movie I watched today only lasted for 90 minutes, during these 90 minutes, I enjoyed a unique happiness, which made me realize that life actually has another meaning , Another meaning of life made me think about it...

    User comments

      ( 25 ) Add comments

    • By Benjamin 2023-09-30 12:41:36

      The life of Siberian hunters in the eyes of Germany looks very real, and I am moved by these hard-working and happy people! For the kind of pure moving that can be seen from a distance and dare not be experienced!...

    • By Darrion 2023-09-25 23:12:16

      The only thing that can make movies and reality inseparable, I think there is only one...

    • By Hollis 2023-09-10 20:01:01

      In the endless snow, endless woods and endless cold, hunters work step by step, alone, with dogs, you can't see any emotions, but they say this is the life they...

    • By Roselyn 2023-08-07 22:51:31

      It recorded the seasons of the hunters throughout the year. When the ice and snow melted, the large pieces of ice moved so beautifully. The villagers were completely isolated from the outside world. I find it quite...

    • By Mason 2023-07-28 05:19:32

      At the end of the film, the homesick hunter drives a snowmobile back to the village to reunite with his family for the New Year, which is surprising, because you can hardly find traces of modern industrial society in this place on the edge of civilization throughout the film, except for those who visit after the ice melts in summer. The cruise ship, politicians and local residents looked at each other with curiosity and even contempt, and Herzog, who was on the sidelines, couldn't help but...

    Movie quotes

    • [first lines]

      Himself - Narrator: This is the village of Bakhtia In Siberia. Although it looks like winter to us, it's already spring here. The village is located In the heart of Siberia, and we should keep in mind that this colossal landmass is one and a half times the size of the United States. The endless wilderness that surrounds this place is known as the taiga. No roads or train lines traverse it. There are only two ways to reach this outpost - one is by helicopter, the other by boat. The expanse in the foreground is not solid ground but the frozen-over Yenisey River, one of the largest waterways in Siberia. It's only during the few Ice-free months of summer that boats can also reach Bakhtia.

      Himself - Narrator: Of the 300 or so inhabitants of this village, a handful of them make their livelihood as professional trappers. One of these men is Gennady Solovyev. Here he makes his way into the wilderness across an enormous frozen river. He wants to show us an essential tool of his profession.

      Gennady Soloviev: [demonstrating] An animal would approach and begin twisting the bait. The pressure is very light, I'll keep my hand in it. Let me show you. See how light it is.

      [the top collapses]

      Gennady Soloviev: There you go. The animal is trapped. This is how I disarm the trap.

      [lifting the top back up]

      Gennady Soloviev: I take away the bait. I remove the wooden linchpin so squirrels or mice don't steal them. I put everything under the roof, and that's it.

    • Gennady Soloviev: [cutting wood for his skis] Of course, a good craftsman will make good skis using good wood. Getting around in these is sheer pleasure. You might have factory-made ones. If you and go into the Woods, you'll drop dead from fatigue after 15 kilometers. You won't be able to move a leg.