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Never Cry WolfRating:
Release Date: 23 July, 2002 Retail Price: $24.98 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: |
Never Cry Wolf Reviews
"Keep movin, Tyler. Gotta keep movin."
One of the most beautiful and sympathetic movies ever made about wolves, Alaska, and the Inuit, I could watch this movie over and over and not get tired of it. A mid-level analyst who just happens to be in the right place at the right time (he has his doubts early on)is chosen to go North to investigate the Arctic wolf and its impact on the caribou population. Along the way he encounters a host of intriguing characters, including a crazy-like-a-fox entrepreneurial bush pilot looking to make some sort of big score, a number of wacky bit players who I can easily imagine were not actors, but the real deal, and every bit as eccentric as they appeared; and an endearingly sage old Inuit of few words but many eloquent silences.
The investigator, Tyler, is not at all sure that he's up to the demands of the job, but forges ahead regardless, played with practical flair by Charles Martin Smith, a perfect choice for the lead here. I would be at a loss and panic-stricken if left alone on a frozen lake in Alaska, as his character Tyler is; Tyler takes it all in stride, trusting it will all be good in the morning, even though it is established early that for all the fact that he was chosen for this mission, he goes into it with a deep-seated terror of wolves.
After the assistance of the old Inuit man in getting centered on his path - and the abrupt disappearance of his benefactor, who has a way of coming and going that magicians would envy - Tyler finds himself deep in the bush country and immersed in the world of wolves before he realizes how completely they have taken him over. Knowledge and observance quickly negates his fear, and he is brought to a serenity of spirit and understanding of his place in the world that makes me wish I had the courage and stamina to go out and try it too.
A caveat: there is a culinary moment in this movie that might cause the squeamish some distress. Do what I did at the crucial moment; look at the ceiling, or recite to yourself, "It's only chocolate, it's only chocolate." You'll know when it gets close; they don't spring it on you; and it IS just chocolate.
Highly recommended for the whole family.(Oh one more caveat; if skinny-dipping adults offend you - briefly skinny-dipping, and not flagrantly overt - then maybe this isn't your movie.)
Must see
The caribou population is declining at an alarming rate and the Canadian government is concerned. After a harrowing and kind of funny plane flight with tundra pilot Brian Dennehy government researcher Tyler is dropped in the frozen middle of nowhere. It's a `kind of' funny plane flight because it's so well done. Dennehy is a hung over, buckaroo bonzai type independent flyer. His little prop plane, heavily laden with Tyler's (Charles Martin Smith) equipment, has a tough time both taking off and, later, staying afloat. The in-flight repairs Dennehy makes had me on the edge of my seat - although the photography is the great strength of NEVER CRY WOLF, the acting - especially by Smith - and the editing are also nearly perfect. As harrowing as the plane ride is it's a pretty safe bet the plane will land (elsewise there'd be no movie) and Tyler will find survival, rather than research, is the pressing order of business.
Tyler is there to locate a wild wolf pack, kill one or two of the pack members, and dissect them to discover if, as suspected, their stomachs contain an inordinate amount of healthy caribou meat. Tyler, laden with crates of light bulbs and toilet paper, is materially and constitutionally unprepared for setting up a research station on his own. Fortunately for him he'll be discovered, rescued, and befriended by two Inuits - the ancient Ootek (Zachary Ittimangnaq) and his adopted son, Mike (Samson Jonah.) As Tyler notes in his voice-over narration, there are no orphans among the Inuit. Ootek and Mike will arrive and disappear a few times, a wolf pack will be found, and Tyler will learn that man's relationship to the wolf is many times more complex than he imagined.
I dislike most message movies. They tend to distort characters and events, and beat you over the head until you accept their point of view. NEVER CRY WOLF has a strong message about man and nature, but it's such an entertaining movie I didn't feel like I needed to join the Sierra Club to enjoy it. The story lines are clear, and after the plane trip its plentiful humor is quiet and unforced. Smith, who spends an awful lot of the movie alone, acting under his voice-over narration, is nuanced and convincing. Jorah and, especially, Ittimangnaq, are both good and both add a layer of authenticity to the film. And the photography is at times breathtaking. NEVER CRY WOLF is a gem.
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