Hey 3.5 readers. A quick review here for a quick movie.
You don’t see many movies based in pre-historic times. I don’t know why.
Anyway, separated from his family and tribe after a bull attack makes everyone assume he’s dead, young Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee) most navigate treacherous terrain in order to see his loved ones again.
Along the way, he meets and tames a wolf he calls Alpha, turning the animal from fierce attacker to loyal pet.
One thing that struck me from a writer’s perspective is the show don’t tell aspect. For much of the movie, it’s just a boy and his dog. When characters do talk, they speak caveman (how does anyone today speak caveman?) so you have to read what they say in English.
So the filmmakers trust the audience to figure things out. Throughout his journey, Keda does a lot of gross things that we take for granted that we don’t have to do anymore, thanks to modern luxuries.
For example, there’s no KFC or pizza delivery, so when he’s hungry, Keda eats worms and bugs…happily…without complaining…like, “Oh boy, thank goodness that worm crawled by, I was starving.”
When he’s injured, he packs a wound with maggots, presumably to eat the infection…because there are no hospitals, although on occasion I’ve met a couple of doctors who are so incompetent that stay at home maggot care is preferable, am I right?
Oh, and there’s a scene involving poop you don’t want to know about.
It’s short and a little sappy but a good film and a short one that won’t take much of your time. Worth a rental.
Main problem – all the cave people wear animal skin coats that are cut so well they look like they came off the rack at a cave LL Bean.
STATUS: Shelf-worthy.
Bookshelf Battle 