Dersu Uzala

At the start of the twentieth century, a group of soldiers are sent to explore the wilderness of their Eastern Siberian province. Led by "Capt. Arseniev" (Yuriy Solomin) they venture deep into the unforgiving territory where they are fortunate to encounter the local Goldi hunter "Dersu" (Maksim Munzuk). They are able to communicate rudimentarily and pretty swiftly they realise that without their wily and respectful guide they would perish amidst the wintry conditions. Indeed, after the tour has finished they all owe this diminutive man an undying debt of gratitude. Many years later, "Arseniev" returns to this wilderness and again happens upon his old friend. This time, though, it's not mapping they are doing but hunting the hunters. A tribe of Chinese who are killing for the sake of killing, using brutal traps to ensnare their pray. They also find themselves on the trail of a tiger - a creature protected by the great spirits of the forest. It's when Dersu mistakenly kills one, that he fears the revenge of the land in which he has thrived for so long, and so accepts an invitation to live with his friend in the town. Here, though, there are no tents, he can't shoot or fish - and somehow the central heating doesn't quite compensate as he yearns to return to his wild, untainted, homeland. This is a gorgeously photographed story about the human spirit. About what happens when mankind collaborates - not just with each other, but with the nature that surrounds us. Munzuk is superb as the hunter, as convincing as I reckon an actor could ever be as he dons his furs and wades through the mire and the snow with his squad in tow almost as if they were duckings following their mother. It's also a story about friendship, loyalty and inter-reliance, it dwells heavily on the symbiotic nature that works best when collaboration is the order of the day and by the conclusion, it illustrates clearly the love and respect between the two men whose cultures could have clashed; should have clashed, but that ended up bringing them together in a fashion neither could ever have anticipated. It's a delicately presented script on humanity and well worth a watch.