Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2013)

  • 87% of critics liked it
    (45 reviews)

  • 73% of users liked it
    (955 ratings)

With HAPPY PEOPLE: A YEAR IN THE TAIGA, Werner Herzog and Russian co-director Dmitry Vasyukov takes viewers on yet another unforgettable journey into remote and extreme natural landscapes. The acclaimed filmmaker presents this visually stunning documentary about indigenous people living in the heart… More

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In Theaters
Jan 25, 2013 Limited
On DVD
Apr 23, 2013
Music Box Films

Critic Reviews

  • Tom Long, Detroit News

    "Happy People" seems to strain toward the notion that harsh nature makes for a pure heart. And perhaps it does for some. But all?

  • Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    Titling a documentary about snowbound Siberian fur trappers "Happy People" is not as ironic as it seems.

  • Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic

    Herzog's longing for the ideological purity in which these lives are lived, free of paperwork and bureaucracy, taxes and technology, drives the film, which lacks an overall story arc.

  • Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle

    It's a do-it-yourself world that Herzog clearly admires - much of what we see is the men performing the tasks that enable them to survive.

  • Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

    They decidedly don't seem happy. And "Happy People's" decision to skate down the frozen Yenisei without examining their unhappiness more closely leaves a slight chill.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Sam B


    I never thought I'd say this, but while watching this film I actually missed Werner Herzog's usual grand pretentiousness. "Happy People" is a very interesting look at a culture so distant from (but in some ways shockingly similar to) our own, but a lot of life in… More

  • Anthony L


    Simple, informative, fascinating and quite wonderful. Watching the 'Happy people' of Taiga training their dogs, building their boats and setting their traps is both hypnotic and humbling. For people who appreciate the simple things in life and seek a little more warmth than… More

  • Walter M


    "Happy People: A Year in the Taiga" is a fairly routine ethnographic documentary about fur trappers living in a remote part of Siberia that is improved by Werner Herzog's spirited narration.(Seriously, could he just narrate every documentary, plus become the official… More

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