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?

• 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.

• Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

  If you want a taste of life as it must have been for the Voyageurs of old, this documentary is a good place to start.

• Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

  Albeit a found film of sorts, Happy People is very much of a piece with Herzog's other work, examining man's place in the natural world, looking at man's history and man's ability to survive, to endure.

• Brandon Judell, CultureCatch

  Cut down from a four-hour documentary by Vasyukov, the result is a film lacking in catastrophic tragedies of any sort that holds you nonetheless with its raw view of lives spurning quotidian modern comforts with a vengeance.

• Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)

  In a very real sense, we are watching Herzog watch this film, his rapturous reaction illuminating as much about himself as his subjects.

• Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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

• Kelly Vance, East Bay Express

  Quirky and a little scary and rapturous all at the same time.

• Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

  It's not that Happy People is uninteresting... It's just that the one sensibility of which we were previously aware -- that of Herzog's -- is indiscernible, as if frozen beneath all this movie's ice.

• Brent Simon, Shared Darkness

  A stirring meditation on the human spirit in extreme conditions, Happy People also reflects Herzog's passion and fascination for the often unforgiving nature of the wild.

• Robert Denerstein, Movie Habit

  From Siberia, with Happiness

• Brian Tallerico, HollywoodChicago.com

  It's a minor film from a major director but it's still a strong one for those interested in its subject matter - how people can still co-exist with and live off the land instead of ignoring or abusing it.

• Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press

  Herzog ... continues his streak of well-crafted documentaries with surprising subjects.

• Marc Mohan, Oregonian

  Primarily following one veteran sable trapper through his primitive but fascinating annual routine, the movie also features clouds of mosquitoes thick enough to inspire phantom itching in viewers.

• Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews

  The quality of the video, solid behind the camera work and the dedication of all involved (and the wonderful subjects) make this an uplifting happy story about "Happy People."

Read all 17 critic reviews