Alpha (2018)

Natasha Malthe: She plays her part quite well in the movie.

Kodi Smit-McPhee: As Keda, he is tasked with most of the acting duties, & he proves he can hold his own as the star of the film.

Story: Set in the last Ice Age, a young man must learn to survive alone in the wilderness by learning to rely on a wolf. ‘Alpha’ captures the 1st incident of humans befriending wild wolves. The harsh & unforgiving landscape of the Ice Age forms the backdrop to this fictional tale as young Keda is injured & left to die after a mishap during a hunting expedition. While trying to make his way back home, he befriends an injured wolf, & they both must fight the elements & other predators to survive the ordeal.

Cinematography: Spectacular

Screenplay: Heart-Warming

Direction: This Ice Age is also envisioned by director Albert Hughes as a time of great natural beauty; lovingly captured in some breath-taking vistas of Europe 20,000 years ago.

Alpha: The story itself is relatively straightforward which might get predictable, but it works as an original fable of how dogs became ‘best friends’ to humans. It is also a coming-of-age tale of a young boy’s painful journey into adulthood while imagining how a sense of caring for a species other than our own came to be.

Review by Shreya Ghosh