Anyone seen this? From what I've read, it's about some people who live in a very remote part of Russia, perhaps off the grid as well.
happy people: a year in the taiga
I have seen it. Has its moments, but I consider it one of the Herzog's worst. Herzog often makes movies about people who have alternative lifestyles, who are very passionate about some obscure topics etc. (see "Encounters at the End of the World", "Grizzly Man" for good examples). Not all people in this movie are not necessarily "happy people", in my opinion. I think Herzog was blinded by his enthusiasm and wrongly equated "simple" and "exotic" with "happy" and "desirable".
That said, the movie may still be of some interest to some ERE folk: it depicts living in harsh Siberian conditions, making your own skis and insect repellent, hunting...
That said, the movie may still be of some interest to some ERE folk: it depicts living in harsh Siberian conditions, making your own skis and insect repellent, hunting...
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secretwealth
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"I think Herzog was blinded by his enthusiasm and wrongly equated "simple" and "exotic" with "happy" and "desirable"."
I've seen a lot of this attitude amongst tourists in developing countries, particularly if the majority there isn't white. In Guatemala I saw plenty of hippies wax lyrical about how more innocent and noble and just better the locals lived. Then you talk to the locals, hear about rampant domestic abuse, alcoholism, gang violence, and so on.
It's a kind of racism--the noble savage fallacy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_savage).
I've seen a lot of this attitude amongst tourists in developing countries, particularly if the majority there isn't white. In Guatemala I saw plenty of hippies wax lyrical about how more innocent and noble and just better the locals lived. Then you talk to the locals, hear about rampant domestic abuse, alcoholism, gang violence, and so on.
It's a kind of racism--the noble savage fallacy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_savage).
Happy People - A Year in the Taiga
just watched this on Netflix...It's great....About a remote area in Russia where people live totally off the land....Let me know if you get to watch it....
Re: Happy People - A Year in the Taiga
I have seen it. I liked it. Herzog is great and the movie is cool. I thought it was interesting that I believe it's the grandson of the famous filmmaker Tarkovsky lives out there also.