Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Happy People: A Year in the Taiga -- a documentary assembled (though not filmed) by German director Werner Herzog -- captures a year in the life of the hunter-trappers who live and work in the wilderness region around Siberia. There's some violence related to hunting, with animals harmed and/or killed. In one sequence, a dog chases and bites a small animal. The movie briefly discusses the fact that many of the residents of this area have a drinking problem; some drinking is shown, as is cigarette smoking. The word "bitch" is used a few times, but only in reference to female dogs. These issues aside, Happy People is fascinating, informative, and sometimes touching, even showing what life might be like without media and cell phones. It should be fine for younger teens and older tweens.
Sexual
Content
Not applicable
Violence
A few sequences of animals being caught and/or trapped. A dog chases a smaller animal and fights with it, and a hunter removes dead, frozen animals from traps. Guns are occasionally shown and fired. Fish are stabbed and shot underwater. There's a spoken story about a bear killing a dog. Little to no blood is shown.
Language
The word "bitch" is used a few times (in subtitles), but only in reference to its actual meaning: a female dog.
Social
Behavior
Some viewers may see the hunter-trappers as old-fashioned or out of touch, but there's something beautiful about the way that their methods have been passed down through the generations and the way that they live without media in the wilderness, focused mainly on survival and the task at hand. There are a couple of brief scenes of young people being taught these age-old skills for future reference.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
In one sequence, the movie explains how many of the inhabitants of this small village have a drinking problem, specifically mentioning vodka. One local seems to be either drunk or slightly crazy. (The main subjects don't seem to drink at all.) In another scene, locals drink strong vodka that the narration describes as being like "jet fuel." Some subjects are shown smoking cigarettes as well.
