Alpha

"Ah shit, I've no credit on my leap card, I'll have to pay cash."
"My phone charger cable is frayed."
"Quinoa again? Seriously."

We have little to moan about these days but we do it anyway. Technology and electricity keeps us safe and warm and aware. But it's turned us soft. We're a race of wimps. To misquote the Bull McCabe "We've lost touch with the land." Watching a film like Alpha will make you realise it pretty sharpish.

20,000 years ago, somewhere in Europe, a young man named Keda is preparing for his first big bison hunt. Himself, his father Tau and the other members of his tribe have travelled far from home in search of meat and fur. A reluctant Keda hesitates to draw blood during an attack and this hesitation sees him injured and presumed dead. During his recuperation he makes friends with an injured wolf and creates a relationship that will have a massive knock on effect on the future of mankind.

This one came out of nowhere with barely a trailer shown on on TV or a bus side poster to advertise it. That's a pity because it's a thoroughly entertaining and thrilling prehistoric drama that gives us a unique look at the dawn of civilisation. It takes cues from Jean Jacques Annaud's 1981 film Quest For Fire and the 2016 video game Far Cry : Primal but it's very much its own beast. It's use of primitive language lends it an atmospheric veneer and help it soar over other films set in the same time period such as 10,000 BC or those horrible 1960's films featuring Racquel Welch as a furry bikini wearing cave woman. The language is used sparingly but some great facial acting from Kodie Smith- McPhee as Keda and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as his father Tau helps ground the film and give it a beating heart. That heart is felt in the scenes between Keda and the wolf too. Fear giving way to wary and tentative trust and then friendship. The small moments are a joy in between the harsher stuff.

Director Albert Hughes burst onto the scene in 1993 with his brother Allen and their blistering debut Menace II Society. Another film about a young man trying to find his way in a violent and dangerous landscape. With Alpha he's made his first family friendly film but don't let the 12 certificate fool you. Life in the Upper Paleolithic era was deadly and unforgiving. Kill or be killed. Hughes doesn't shy away from what Keda has to do to survive and animal lovers out there won't appreciate what they see onscreen. But what will be appreciated by all is the beauty of the age depicted. A time before smog and pylons, roads and bridges. Clear skies, beautiful untarnished landscapes, pristine snow, nature at it's purest. The many overhead shots of Keda show just how dwarved by it all he is though.

Smith-McPhee carries the film confidently. He does as much emoting with his eyes as his dialogue. His scrawny lanky physique will have you fearing for him throughout and the moments where the darker sides of nature come sniffing around will have you chewing the knuckles off yourself. Thankfully his believable and touching relationship with his canine bud will give you some reason to relax. Some. The constant threat of danger still lurks around every corner and gives the movie an impetus which makes the time fly by. Some of the more far fetched aspects of the story will make you roll your eyes though and at times you wouldn't be blamed for wondering if Keda is somehow invincible. Survival thrillers do tend to over egg the dramatic moments at times and I suppose a bit of silliness will always be preferable to endless scenes of someone slogging along. 

If this makes it to your local cinema it's well worth a watch. It's rare to see a film like this break through and even rarer to see a subtitled one make it to multiplexes. That crossed with fine direction and acting and beautiful cinematography all combine to make it a film that won't disappoint.