Plot
During China's Cultural Revolution, a young urban student is sent to live with Mongolian herders, where he adopts a wolf cub.
Release Year: 2015
Rating: 6.7/10 (1,620 voted)
Critic's Score: 47/100
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Stars: Shaofeng Feng, Shawn Dou, Ankhnyam Ragchaa
Storyline
In 1967, a young Beijing student, Chen Zhen, is sent to live among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia. Caught between the advance of civilization from the south and the nomads' traditional enemies - the marauding wolves - to the north; humans and animals, residents and invaders alike, struggle to find their true place in the world.
Writers: Jiang Rong, Jean-Jacques Annaud
Cast: Shaofeng Feng -
Chen Zhen
Shawn Dou -
Yang Ke
Ankhnyam Ragchaa -
Gasma
(as Ankhnyam Rachaa)
Yin Zhusheng -
Bao Shunghi
Ba Sen Zha Bu -
Bilig
(as Basen Zhabu)
Baoyingexige -
Batu
Trivia:
The director Jean-Jacques Annaud claims that he did the screenplay very freely and owns the final-cut right, which is quite unusual in China under the country's strict censorship. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 9/10
It saddens me that this film will not receive a wider audience. With an
English title of "Wolf Totem" very few outside of France or China will
be tempted to see it, but it is their loss.
Wolf Totem manages to bring to the big screen the majesty and mystery
of wolves. But it is much more than a National Geographic or Animal
Planet documentary. (Although those in themselves would be a great
success.) It also invites us into the world of Inner Mongolia and tells
a compelling tale of human love and loss. This is not Le Renard et
L'infant (The Fox and the Child). It succeeds in telling a much grander
tale. The acting is all very believable and unlike the usual
over-the-top soap opera-esque fare available in most Chinese cinema.
But come for the wolves. I could howl their praises all night long.
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