I lived in Siberia between 1963 and 1973 and I can testify that the film is as true to the reality of life there as it gets.

it is a film for who the review is haunting of wind. because it is out of words. picture of an universe, cruel, touching, pure state of facts, it is a form of pray. this is cause for who, for me, the scene of paper icon is the best. a world in search of sense. desire / need/ search of God. in the heart of taiga. and His presence. in presence of young prostitute. in the young soldier. in the letter to father. in the grandfather as keeper of measure. a Russian film like a conquest. as lines of a battle.it is not an exception, many movies from East are exercises for self definition. in this case, like in Ostrov or Tsar, in Angel Tunnel , the problem, the central quest is this feeling who gives sense of life. the answer - miracle. in old Dostoyevsky manner - redemption. fall of sin. honest image of circle who has you as part. bitter, cruel, sad, full of extraordinary beauty. a film. about God.

It's lovely movie,Siberia. Late autumn. In taiga.In the deserted village there lives an old man Ivan & his seven-year-old grandson Leshia. A pack of feral dogs devours everything alive in the neighborhood. One of these dogs is Leshia's best friend. Sometimes their relative uncle Yuri brings food to them. Once on his way back from Ivan's village uncle Yuri is attacked by dogs & perishes. Ivan & Leshia stay without supply. Once Leshia witnesses Ivan shooting at 'his' dog & runs away. The old Man finds him in a dry well, but he fails to get him out on his own. Ivan sets out through taiga in search of help. Now the dogs are hunting him... And the boy is waiting for his father...

It's the best and incredible film about wild Russia. All scenes about hard life in taiga. I'm under the impression.The old grandfather and his grandson live in the wild wilderness. Wild dogs have eaten all the animals in the nearby woods. Grandfather is lame and can not go far to hunt. Wild dogs ate their goats, they have no food. His grandson is waiting for his father. Sometimes they were visiting by uncle and brings food, because of the drunkenness and sloppiness uncle once was lost in the forest. The grandson had quarreled with his grandfather, fled, and fell into the pit. To get him out of the pit grandfather needs help and he goes through the wild forest to the people.This film is about what it means to be human. This film about the hard life in which there is a place not only care about survival, but also mutual.This is a complicated film, it makes you wonder about the meaning of life.