Wolf Totem (2015)

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Screenwriter: Alain Godard / Jean-Jacques Annaud / Lu Wei / John Curley / Jiang Rong

Starring: Feng Shaofeng / Dou Xiao / Ang Haniema / Basen / Yin Zhusheng / Huang Xiaolei

Genre: Drama / Adventure

Country/Region: Chinese mainland / France

Language: Mandarin / Mongolian

Release Date: 2015-02-19 (Chinese mainland) / 2015-02-25 (France) Runtime: 121 minutes

Also known as: Le Dernier Loup / Wolf Totem

IMDb: tt2909116

Plot Summary: In the 1960s, Beijing educated youth Chen Zhen (Feng Shaofeng) and Yang Ke (Dou Xiao) were sent to the Eren Grassland in Inner Mongolia for rural re-education. They joined the production team of the elderly Mongolian herdsman Bilige (Basen) and his daughter-in-law Gasmay (Ang Haniema), beginning a years-long life of herding. Through interactions with wolf packs, Chen Zhen, driven by intense curiosity, gradually came to understand these animals and even entertained the idea of raising a young wolf. The Mongolian people revered wolves and cherished the grasslands, while the Han people exploited the land for profit, leading to a "war" between wolves and humans. The production team, led by the field director Bao Shungui (Yin Zhusheng), ultimately launched a wolf extermination campaign, bringing the relationship between wolves and humans to a critical point of tension... The relationship between nature and humanity also faced unprecedented challenges.

The film is adapted from Jiang Rong's novel of the same name and took five years to shoot.