Alpha is a new hunter/gatherer, early man adventure flick in the same family as Quest for Fire, Clan of the Cave Bear, and… ermm… 20,000 BC. This is the tale of a tribe of hunter/gatherers and the first wolf domesticated into a pet (or at least companion hunting animal). Of course, nobody knows for sure how the first dog was domesticated… there are a few different theories… but I doubt any followed this film’s logic.
The story follows a band of hunters who go on an improbably long hike… seems like a couple weeks to reach a hunting ground. There, the chief’s son (played by an actor probably too old for the lessons he’s taught) gets into an accident involving a buffalo and a cliff and is left for dead. He survives with an improbably badly broken ankle, almost gets eaten by some wolves, and winds up making friends with one of those wolves. This becomes the heart of the story as the boy tries to tend to the untrusting wolf and they form a bond as he tries to find his way home.
I didn’t buy the reason the boy and the wolf became friends. For no reason I could determine, the boy rescues the injured wolf and heals him. That’d be a tender moment except for the fact these people don’t have pets and consider wolves as wild animals out to eat them. This could have worked better if they had found themselves trapped together and had to work to escape or fight off other predators…
I also found the film a little sloggy especially in the back half. I don’t think it’s enough to hate the movie, especially since it was trying so hard to be entertaining. But it’s certainly enough to wish it had been better and I regret the missed opportunity.
That said, the movie is, at times, absolutely gorgeous. There are individual shots of majesty and beauty. Very painterly or artistic moments of buffalo charging, a wolf pouncing, of the night sky, or panoramic shots of human hunters against the wild sky. The film is set in a desolate, bleak Europe with many shots of isolated, untended land, bubbling mud, volcanic fissures, and great big night skies. It does a very credible job of making you feel like you are in pre-history.
Overall, this is a pretty good tale of prehistory. It’s a somewhat unconvincing story of dog domestication… what happens in one 90 minute movies probably would have taken generations in reality. But the movie had its heart and its artistic eye in the right place and it’s quite possible the movie is better than I give it credit for (based on the fairly positive reviews). I wish I enjoyed it more – that it didn’t leave me doubting some of its plotting and if it had felt less plodding.
Score: 70