Loup

I hate dubbed movies. It just doesn't sound natural. Unfortunately I couldn't find the film in its original French language. Its unfair to judge a movie this way, but sadly it has a big impact on the entertainment value of a film.

But lets forget about that for a moment and focus on the premise. The film's protagonist is Sergei, who has been chosen to guard the reindeer. To protect the clan's reindeer from prowling wolves is a great honour. However, when Sergei stumbles upon wolf pups, and sees how protective their mother is of them, he can't bring himself to hurting them. Instead, he starts visiting them every day until they become familiar with him. In the process, he neglects his duties as guardian of the reindeer, and becomes annoyed with the rest of his clan.

When he falls in love with Nastazya and shows her the wolves, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to keep their secret, and protect the herd at the same time. There's plenty of action and adventure, and beautiful cinematography. The wolves are absolutely adorable!

I've yet been unable to verify whether the entire film was shot on location, or in front of blue screens. Either way, it looks really good on screen - especially the winter scenes, which are magnificent. While there's much to love about the film, the dubbing ruined most of it for me. I would love to see this film in French!

Having seen 'Wolf Totem' recently, 'Loup' felt like a Disney family movie. It is a well made film and worth the watch, but I doubt I'll watch it again.