Albert Hughes’ Alpha avoids simple Disney story arcs, firmly establishing the film as a survival adventure.
Alpha is the story of a teenage boy, a wolf and the birth of a union that remains steadfast today. Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is the firstborn son of clan leader Tau (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), who is training him to lead the tribe one day. Under his father’s instruction, Keda learns hunting, spearcraft, survival and leadership. But Keda’s mother (Natassia Malthe) is less convinced of her partner’s training techniques, stating that Keda “leads with his heart, not his spear.”
Despite her concerns, Tau decides his son is ready for his first hunt, leading Keda and his fellow hunters into the plains for wildebeest. This is the perfect time for Tau to instruct Keda on the dangers of the hunt, on navigation using only the stars, and on the survival techniques he must master and own.
But the hunt ends in tragedy as a herd of wildebeest tears through the group and tosses Keda’s young body over the side of a cliff, where he lands lifeless on a steep ledge. Keda is unconscious, his body limp and unmoving, and with no way to reach him, his father believes he is dead. Grieving his loss, Tau leads his men back home.
Days later, Keda awakens as a flash flood offers a dangerous opportunity to escape the ledge. As he reaches land, his leg badly broken, a pack of wolves stalk him with every step. Keda has no choice but to fight the ravenous wolves, injuring one of the pack in the scuffle. But as Keda and the injured wolf lay on the ground, their energy spent, a spark of companionship begins to grow. Could they achieve more together than apart?
Albert Hughes’ Alpha avoids simple Disney story arcs, firmly establishing the film as a survival adventure. Here, stunning action sequences and moments of quiet reflection sit side by side in a film that requires little language. Kedu speaks an ancient dialect, and subtitles are used throughout, smartly introducing kids to the world of foreign cinema through a production full of heart-pounding action. But the real genius lies in the breathtaking cinematography of Martin Gschlacht, the rousing score by Joseph S. DeBeasi and Michael Stearns, and the cracking central performance by Kodi Smit-McPhee.
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