Wolf Totem (film)

Wolf Totem
Two men's heads are seen, with a wolf's head seen above and between their heads.
Chinese theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese狼圖騰
Simplified Chinese狼图腾
Literal meaningwolf totem
Hanyu Pinyinláng túténg
Directed byJean-Jacques Annaud
Screenplay by
Based onWolf Totem
by Jiang Rong
Produced by
  • Jean-Jacques Annaud
  • Xavier Castaño
  • La Peikang
  • Bill Kong
Starring
CinematographyJean-Marie Dreujou
Edited byReynald Bertrand
Music byJames Horner
Production
company
(see notes)
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 19 February 2015 (2015-02-19) (China)
  • 25 February 2015 (2015-02-25) (France)
Running time
121 minutes
Countries
  • China
  • France
Languages
BudgetUS$38 million[1]
Box officeUS$125.7 million[2]

Wolf Totem (Chinese: 狼图腾, French: Le dernier loup, "The Last Wolf") is a 2015 drama film based on the 2004 Chinese semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Jiang Rong. Directed by French director Jean-Jacques Annaud, the Chinese-French co-production features a Chinese student who is sent to Inner Mongolia to teach shepherds and instead learns about the wolf population, which is under threat by a government apparatchik.

The Beijing Forbidden City Film Corporation initially sought to hire a Chinese director, but filming humans with real wolves was considered too difficult. New Zealand director Peter Jackson was approached, but production did not take place. Annaud, whose 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet is banned in China, had his personal ban lifted and was hired to direct Wolf Totem. The film was produced under China Film Group and French-based Reperage. The French director, who had worked with animals on other films, acquired a dozen wolf pups in China and had them trained for several years by Andrew Simpson, a Canadian-based animal trainer. With a production budget of US$38 million, Annaud filmed Wolf Totem in Inner Mongolia, where the book is set, for over a year.

The film premiered at the European Film Market on February 7, 2015. It was released in China on February 19, 2015, for the start of the Chinese New Year, and it was released in France on February 25, 2015. It was originally reported that the film had been selected as the Chinese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.[3] However, when the final list was announced by the Academy, China's submission was listed as Go Away Mr. Tumor by Han Yan.[4] The film was the final film released in James Horner's lifetime before his death four months later in June 2015.

  1. ^ Patrick Frater (February 23, 2015). "Jackie Chan's 'Dragon Blade' Scores $55 Million to Head China's New Year Box Office". Variety. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  2. ^ "Wolf Totem (2015) Box office Mojo". Box office Mojo. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  3. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (22 September 2015). "China Confirms 'Wolf Totem' as Oscar Submission Amid Controversy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  4. ^ "81 Countries In Competition For 2015 Foreign Language Film Oscar". AMPAS. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.