Review of Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010) by Eric M — 16 Feb 2014

Not my favorite Herzog documentary, but fascinating all the same. He is a master of getting the small details as well as the big picture. I especially loved the irony of the political candidate that comes on a boat to these people and it is clear that the people don't care.

They just want the food. This is a documentary about people who simply survive. Does that make them happier than someone in middle class America? Not necessarily, and I'm not sure that Herzong was trying to prove that point.

But it is clear that one of the points is that you CAN be happy with technology and all of the distractions of a modern world.