Aleksei Vakhrushev
Russia | 2011 | 105 min
Language : Russian
Subtitle : English
A year among the Chukchis, a nomadic people living in Russia, close to the Arctic Circle. Constructed in chapters, mid-way between anthropological essay and collection of legends about a lost tribe, the film gives a detailed account of their activities: reindeer hunting, making clothes, moving camp. The Tundra Book conveys the harshness of life on the tundra, and the beauty of this environment, though the eyes of the old chief Vukvukai, who has always led his family in the valleys of the Chukchi peninsula. “This film tells the story of an ancient culture and a unique world now threatened with extinction. The Chukchis are under great pressure from the outside world and the forces of modernity. The question ‘To be or not to be?’ is not rhetorical, but all too real. In this documentary, we have tried to capture the rules governing this world. We wanted to give the Chukchis the opportunity to show how they really live and let them speak freely of their traditions and present circumstances” (AV).
Carlo Chatrian
Translation BMP Translations