Mystère

But still a light feel good movie. Maybe not a deep plot where you learn much but still an enjoyable view. Great shots of the French countryside and beautiful wolves.

A feel good movie. Nothing new or special, but makes you feel relaxed. Relationship between the dad & the daughter, wolf & Vicky, dad & his friend are all presented very well. There have been movies in the past that demonstrates the relationship between humans & animals. But I was seeing one again after a long time. Well made movie!

I see lots of bad reviews, but I think maybe people don't understand.

First, this is inspired by a true story and meant to be a family film.

Second, I watched it in French, and I can see how a dubbed version could fall flat.

I felt the writing and acting were perfectly fine.

I also appreciated how it explored the many facets of societal issues.

But the best part, for me, was the visual aspect. It was simply magnificent!

There's a Youtube channel called The Dodo that has lots of 3 minute feel good videos about human animal interaction, and animal animal interaction. This is like a 90 minute version of one of those!

Scenario: the small town of Cantal in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in France's central plateau and its scarcely populated environs. The characters are Victoria, an eight year old whose mother has recently died, Stéphane, her father and Thierry, her mother's brother. Victoria is deeply affected by her mother's death and refuses (or is unable) to speak, Stéphane has moved with Victoria to an old and neglected farmhouse near Cantal, property of the family and formerly used as a summer house. He and Thierry hope that the relocation will help Victoria heal. That actually happens in a way via a puppy of unknown origin that an old farmer lets Victoria adopt. The script is based on a real story where the real Virginia was three years old.

If this movie belongs to a genre it would be that of intelligent children's movies that grownups will can also enjoy, like John Sayles' The Secret of Roan Innis. As a story, it compares to the quality books my generation (and maybe the next) read as children such as Jack London's White Fang. Within its aims, the movie totally succeeds. Acting is good all around, and the cinematography of Fabrizio Fontemaggi immerses us unobtrusively in the beautiful Auvergne landscapes, both summer and winter. Script by director and (four) collaborators is lively and witty, with some hints about each character's past. Direction is smooth and fluid. The wolves are real and amazingly natural in front of the camera (one is tempted to say they are good actors). And, finally, we learn something about wolf packs and the interface people/wolves in France. Surviving wolves are just a few hundred and hunting them is illegal, a situation that doesn't suit sheep farmers, A quality movie.