Alpha (2018) – a review

A boy/ (almost a) man is presumed dead on the side of a cliff. When he awakens he finds his clan gone and he has to find his way back home. Along the way he befriends a wolf that he names Alpha and together they undertake the perilous journey home. Oh, and it all takes place 20.000 BC.

As you can read from my summary I wasn’t very impressed by the overall story. It has been done to death this kind of tale: With dogs (White Fang), robot dogs (A-X-L), Bears (The amazing Panda adventure), Orcas (Free Willy) –and I could name at least fifty more if I’m allowed to include aliens (Enemy of mine) and mythological  creatures (The water horse). There’s something about an unlikely friendship that people enjoy.

So this kind of movie has been done over and over again. However, and this is the catch: if done right it always brings an enjoyable ride. And Alpha certainly does it right.

If you think about it, Alpha has a LOT of other movies inside it as well. Just to name a few (see I you can spot them):

The revenant, How to train your dragon, The lion king, The jungle book,

 The lord of the rings: the return of the king and many, many others.

20.000 BC: always tricky.
If the main story is bland it still is a fact that this movie dares to travel to 20.000 BC that elevates it. Apart from Quest for Fire there is hardly any good movie out there about the stone age. Emmerich’s 20.000 BC was (is) terribly forgettable. And then, more recently, there was a Jack Black, Michael Cera comedy that everybody involved would rather love to forget.

The reason for this lack of stone-age-movies is simple; there simply aren’t a lot of story to tell about the stone age. There are no massive castles with crooked kings. There is no Biblical epos of right and wrong. Even the Egyptians and Greeks had some Gods to mess things about.
The only true story to tell in this niche of a genre is ‘man against nature’ which Quest for fire and, now, Alpha do.

Early man: The language.
The second daring thing Alpha does is getting actors to speak in ancient tongue. This is fine for us Europeans who read subtitles all the time but a deathblow for the American market who don’t. So usually, if you want a movie to be successful on the American market this is a big 'No-No'!

I assume that a focus on the Asian market played a part in this choice as well.

The last time I can think of that any movie wilfully adapted a ‘forgotten’ language was in Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto. And, to me, it worked then and the same trick works beautifully now.
But this is a big hurdle to overcome. And, perhaps the existence of this movie is proof that the English language is slowly losing grip on the entertainment industry.

But now I’m projecting.

Sabretooth: A critique or two
Of course there is a critique or two. For starters none of the actors can look like a caveman like Ron Perlman did in Quest for Fire. Kodi-Smith McPhee (new-Nightcrawler himself) does a wonderful job in his one hour, one-man-show but, in the end, can’t hide the fact that his whole physique was born 20.000 years later (let alone his sparkling teeth).

The same goes for every other actor on screen. But, then, this is something you have to accept going in. Alpha offers you a bit of realism with the language and the beautiful desolate landscapes but, at the same time, not too much.

Which is definitely a good thing because Smith McPhee’s character Keda finds himself running and rolling from the fire into the frying pan. From one well shot action sequence to the next. Keda finds himself against almost every element nature can throw at him.

Alpha is an adventure movie through-and-through and like any Indiana Jones-movie you don’t want to stop and think about it too much. If you like the character you just want to enjoy the ride with him.

Mammoth: The visuals
Acting wise the movie is a tour de force for Smith McPhee. His (almost trademark) expressive eyes gives you a sense of a caring hero out of his depth. The story, as predictable as it is, gives the actor enough screen-time and attention to convey this message.

One brilliant scene, for instance, is seeing the utterly inept ‘hunter’ Keda learning the ropes. This is a boy learning to be a man and with it the friendship with his wolf Alpha grows.

And, to further explain the title: as Keda becomes a man he becomes the Alpha wolf.

It’s not that hard to understand the motives.

What is truly outstanding in Alpha is the visual style. This is a movie with hardly any dialogue. The dialogue that is in there nobody can understand without subtitles. However, the movie doesn’t need it. The images speak for themselves. Using many cinematic tricks Alpha guides the viewer through Keda and Alpha’s ordeal.

At times the movie reminded me of an interactive comic book. To explain by example(s):
In one scene a decaying Mammoth can be seen, several scenes later the mammoth returns (the same image and framing) but this time 'round it’s a skeleton- thus time has passed. Then, In another scene Keda is suffering on the ground and the camera uses a quick right pan to movie to the next shot/panel. Not to mention the various ‘hero shots’, ‘slow mo shorts’ or the usage of silhouettes and primary colours.

This (and many other things) makes the movie a visual treat - as a comic book is. In fact, I would add that it makes up for some of the ‘less perfect’ CGI animations early on. Which you’ll happily forgo because the shots are so wonderfully constructed.

Wolf: conclusion
One shouldn’t watch Alpha if you don’t like movies about a character befriending am animal (or if Old Yeller traumatized you). That story has been done before and better. However, Alpha is daring in the challenges it posed itself, getting through to the viewer at the right moments and well preformed by the entire cast. But most of all it is for originality in visuals that Alpha is a must see.