Of all the different genres out there, the one that Hollywood hasn't covered within an inch of its life is that of prehistoric or dawn of man dramas. Sure, "2001: A Space Odyssey" '68 obtained a 'dawn of man' sequence and then there was "Quest for Fire" '81 about the discovery of fire, "10,000 B.C. '08, but nothing much else until "Alpha" came along and this had an interesting twist on that particular era of time.
Europe, 20,000 years ago. An epic adventure set in the last Ice Age, this story tells a fascinating, visually stunning tale that shines a light on the origins of man's best friend. While on his first hunt with his tribe's most elite group lead up by his father, Tau (Johannes Haukur Johannesson), a young man, Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is badly injured and presumed dead, and subsequently must learn to survive alone in the wilderness. Reluctantly taming a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, the pair learn to rely on each other and become unlikely allies, enduring countless dangers and overwhelming odds in order to find their way home before the winter arrives and subsequently attempts to kill them.
Others to round out the cast are Mercedes de la Zerba as Nu, Jens Hulten as Xi, Leonor Varela as Shaman, Natassia Malthe as Rho, Spencer Bogaert as Kappa, Priya Rajaratnam as Huntress, Marcin Kowalczyk as Sigma and Patrick Flanagan as Neanderthal #3.
This was stunningly directed by Albert Hughes ("Menace II Society" '93, "Dead Presidents" '95, "American Pimp" (Documentary) '99, "From Hell" '01, "The Book of Eli" '10, "We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss" (Documentary) '14) plus video shorts. Actually the other films in his resume are listed as the Hughes Brothers. What is interesting about this filmmaker is the dark intensity with which he delineates his work. His characters can be in the grimiest of situations and then shows us how these characters will overcome their misery in typically a dark, but entertaining way. If you like this brand of directing, his "The Fury of a Patient Man" is in pre-production for a 2018 release. It was written by a virtual newcomer to either feature films or TV, Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt. Usually when the experience is either limited or non-existent, the script meanders all over the film with little to no cohesiveness or continuity, however I was pleasantly surprised with this storyline and the fluidity of it. Surely, there are a couple of places of slowness, but I don't typically see this good of writing from seasoned writers. I'm not sure if the language spoken in this was authentic, but it certainly appeared that way. Smit-McPhee shined in this as the lost young man and the visuals predominantly designed by Double Negative and MPC (Moving Picture Company) were amazing.
It is intriguing seeing films based on our beginnings as a human race, and this carries that a step further in giving us a scenario of how the 'man's best friend' aspect originated from. This is one that deserves a viewing to understand where we all came from.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 96mins.
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