This past week, the Kodi Smit-McPhee movie Alpha has become a sleeper hit on Netflix. This 2018 film from The Book of Eli director Albert Hughes is a “boy and his dog” story with a prehistoric twist. It takes place in the Paleolithic era and follows a teenage boy named Keda (Smit-McPhee) who bonds with a wolf after being separated from his tribe.
Alpha was added to Netflix on Tuesday, April 1, and by the next day, it claimed the No. 2 spot on Netflix’s most popular movies list. It’s still in the streamer’s top 10, proving that the film’s newfound popularity is no fluke. Here are a few reasons why you should watch it.
It’s a Great Coming-of-Age Story
Beyond simple survival, Keda is also trying to prove himself as he navigates the transition from boy to man within his tribe. The story of Alpha begins with Keda begging his parents to allow him to join the men on a hunting expedition. He has a childlike point of view, dreaming of glory and wanting to grow up without understanding what that really means.
Despite the prehistoric setting, this is a feeling modern audiences can relate to — wishing to be treated as an adult and then discovering the harsh realities that adulthood brings. From White Fang to Life of Pi, books and movies have often used survival stories to symbolize this struggle, and Alpha continues that tradition to great effect.
It’s a Thrilling ‘Man Vs. Nature’ Tale
The four types of conflict in fiction are often categorized as “man versus man,” “man versus nature,” “man versus self” and “man versus society.” Alpha is a textbook example of the “man vs. nature” category in the vein of Cast Away with Tom Hanks or Wild with Reese Witherspoon, but its prehistoric setting gives it some extra potency.
Together, Keda and Alpha (the wolf) face steppe bison, cave hyenas, frozen lakes and treacherous terrain, surviving by their ingenuity and sheer determination.
If you’re a fan of survival stories, Alpha is an unusual and underrated addition to the canon.
A Boy’s Best Friend is His … Wolf?
Alpha dramatizes the domestication of wolves and depicts the way they bonded with early humans to become our hunting companions and, eventually, our best friends. If you’re a dog lover, you can’t help but smile at how Alpha and Keda interact and grow closer.
It’s hard to imagine how our modern-day Great Danes and Pomeranians descended from the same ferocious predators, but Alpha helps paint that picture. The eponymous wolf is portrayed by Chuck, a Czechoslovakian Wolfdog (a cross between a Carpathian Grey Wolf and a German Shepherd), in a delightful canine performance.
There’s a primal essence to the loyalty, love, and comfort that humans get from their canine companions. Alpha will help you understand how it all began.
Alpha’s Striking Visuals and Lead Performance Stand Out
The beautiful badland topography of Alpha presents a wide, empty and wild world that really transports the viewer to another time. (The film was shot in Canada, with the aptly named Dinosaur Provincial Park standing in for Upper Paleolithic Europe.)
All of Alpha’s dialogue is in a language created just for the film, which makes Keda’s tribe feel like a real society with their own distinct culture. Certain distinctive shots, like a scene in which all of the hunters belly crawl towards a herd of bison on a wide-open plain, will stay in your head long after the movie is over.
Since filming Alpha, Smit-McPhee has received a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for his work in The Power of the Dog with Benedict Cumberbatch, and it’s easy to see his star potential in this thrilling movie. In the hands of a lesser actor, Alpha could have been a long, boring trek, but his moving, layered performance makes it an inspiring journey.
You can watch Alpha on Netflix.
