Here's a photo of Werner Herzog when he introduced this film at Doc NY festival:
Viewers of this film, we'll see the people hunting, fishing, gardening, building huts, making skis, making boats and other activities.
The cinematography captures the people, landscape, nature and animals with some of it being quite breath-taking! The people do hunt & fish a lot but they also grow their own produce because crops grow very fast during the long summer days. Remember it's very far north so there's lots of light in the summer & very dark in the winter.
Some quotes from this film:
"When I came here, I had a feeling that my dream had come true. You enjoy the beauty of nature, and you do your job at the same time. What's why they all end up by being hunters. Because hunting brings you closer to the taiga than anything else."
"Come to think of it, we are all killers or accomplices. Evne those people who are kind-hearted and tend to pity everything. Why? It's very simple. A farmer keeps a pig...but he knows in advance what he keeps it for. In order to kill it and to eat it or sell its meat. And even the person who is sorry about all this buys the pork from him. And the trapper is the same as that pig farmer...only he is--how would you say it--more honest. Actually, it's not even about honesty. This man knowingly raises--I used to raise cattle, and I could never bring myself to slaughter them. Because there is, say, a bull. You raise him for two years. It comes to you expecting you to show affection or give it some treat...and instead he gets a bullet in the head. In the taiga, the wild animal knows that no good can com from me, from a man. He tries to escape. Here, it's about who outsmarts whom."
"Trappers make a big mistake when they beat their dogs for touching the traps. Of course you have to punish them and show your displeasure...but beating alone won't keep a dog off the traps. It comes to be afraid of the owner. It stays clear of the trap in the presence of the owner...but when the owner looks away, or at night, he is sure to steal the bait. And if it's afraid of the trap, then it will stay away. It's easy to train them. You set up a trap specifically for dogs. Let it spend some time in the trap...and realize that it's not a pleasant experience. Otherwise, it will be endless trouble for the hunter...and he won't get along with his dog. It will be afraid of him and sneak out at night to make the rounds of the traps...and waste the hunter's efforts. In short, you'll have no end of trouble with your dog. If you do it right, your dog loves you and it's afraid of the traps. What more do you need?"
Here are some scenes from this film:
