Alpha [Blu-ray]

My favorite movie!

“Alpha” seems like a documentary though it is a plausible imaginative narrative of events 20,000 years ago. The film creates a haunting authenticity that makes the viewer a witness to the unfolding story. In a landscape beautiful but dangerous for humans, and with bravery, physical prowess and tribal cooperation the only assets for brutish survival, the young man, Keda, seems ill-equipped. Yet circumstances force him to discover unrecognized talents that not only keep him alive but also write a new chapter in the human existential struggle. He becomes extremely adept at problem-solving, with his evolving proto-technology compensating for his lack of physical strength. And with an unlikely alliance with a wolf, he forms a partnership that provides them both emotional dividends and a practical cooperative partnership.This film is carefully crafted, allowing cold scenic panoramas to paint the vulnerable fragility of the humans trying to live there. Musical understatement conjures mood without overstepping the story. The use of a created synthetic imaginary language with subtitles completes the illusion that we are voyeurs with a privileged seat, sharing the heartache but barred from intervention. Young actor Kodi Smit-McPhee as Keda gives an outstanding nuanced performance as does his wolf-dog co-actor. This cinematic journey is a visual feast and a satisfying emotional engagement in events that could have happened just as the film shows us.

Such a great movie! I saw it on tv and I enjoyed it so much that I immediately came here and ordered it as the credits were rolling. I recently showed my mom and her friend and they both were surprised how much they loved it. Such a twist ending and I had to tell them that the movie wasn't over till you see the credits because at the end the screen blacks out, but just as you think it's over, there's a little bit more!Warning: there is subtitles because they speak in a tribal language, BUT they are short sentences and easy to read. I'm not one for subtitles because I'm a slow reader, but this movie was no problem for me and after the beginning, there's few words here and there between the boy and wolf. Really, it's a wonderful movie. I highly recommend it!!

Love Dog movies. Or Wolf!

Keda is a young man going on his first bison hunt. He is not the hunter his father envisions. He gives up too easily and has a hard time with killing animals. His father is trying to teach him how to a strong hunter and leader. Keda ends up on the wrong end of a bison and gets knocked over the very cliff the hunters have chased the herd over. He lands on a ledge rather than plummeting to the bottom. The hunters assume he is dead. His grief stricken father builds a cairn for him and they all go home with the bison meat they need to survive the winter. Keda wakes up on the ledge. He has a swollen foot. When no one answers his call for help he tries to scale the cliff but ends up hanging there. Then comes a storm. He falls into the flood waters below. Waking up, he is alone, injured and with no supplies. He is eventually attacked by a wolf pack. He wounds one of the wolves while escaping up a tree. When the pack leaves it is he and the wolf. Through various adventures they form a bond and he learns the lessons his father had tried to teach him. I did not find Keda's survival even remotely plausible, nor the way in which he domesticated the wolf. Nevertheless, I did enjoy watching this flick. Good acting through out. The portrayal of Neolithic people felt real. The scenery was beautiful. The CGI Ice Age animals were well done overall.

Perfect transaction and the price was perfect.

Arrived new.

Great movie, I had seen the last half on TV and wanted to see it all!