Aïlo, the brave reindeer – Aïlo: Une odyssée en Laponie (2018)

Directed by: Guillaume Maidatchevsky | 86 minutes | adventure, family | Dutch narrator: Floortje Dessing

Aïlo is a brave baby reindeer born in the icy winter landscape of Finnish Lapland. After birth, the young has to get up in five minutes and learn to walk to follow its mother. Together with the herd, the pair travel many miles in search of juicy grassland. Along the way, Aïlo encounters a colorful procession of other animals, such as an arctic fox, an ermine and a wolverine. But it is also time to run when a pack of hungry wolves chases the herd.

The opening scene of ‘Aïlo, the brave reindeer’ makes it immediately clear that reindeer are tough, hardened members of the deer family. Beautiful close-ups show how the fur of the otherwise exposed reindeer is exposed to a heavy snow shower and the howling Arctic wind. Then we follow a herd of reindeer as it moves from the snowy highlands to the lower and grassy spring and summer pastures.

In the sequel of the film, the focus is mainly on the misadventures of the young reindeer Aïlo. The description brave that comes back in the title is certainly appropriate here. For example, the young is born too early. Normally reindeer don’t give birth to their young until they have arrived at their feeding grounds, but Aïlo sees the light of day during the challenging odyssey to the reindeer paradise. As a result, the young reindeer, fresh from the womb, is immediately confronted with a major challenge. To stay out of the clutches of predators like wolves, brown bears and wolverines, Aïlo must be able to follow his mother and the herd minutes after birth. On his journey to (young) adulthood, he also has to brave icy rivers, huge swarms of mosquitoes and hunting wolves.

‘Aïlo, the brave reindeer’ combines documentary elements with an appealing, if somewhat anthropomorphic, story. The animals are sometimes attributed human emotions such as love and sadness. That’s not a big problem, especially because the humanization of the hairy inhabitants of the northern wilderness remains limited. Moreover, modern scientific findings indicate that the emotional life of many non-human animals is a lot richer than was long thought. Although the reindeer are the undisputed stars of this epic, we also get to know many other inhabitants of the Finnish taiga. For example, there are nice supporting roles for a hyperactive ermine, a wonderful snowy owl, the illustrious wolverine (who is nicknamed ‘the spirit of the forest’ for a reason) and a pack of wolves. The information we get about these animals is somewhat sparse, which means that the documentary aspect of the film is sometimes a bit overshadowed by the emotion.

The images in ‘Aïlo, the Brave Reindeer’ are often of stunning beauty. The expansive landscape shots beautifully show how empty, rugged and unspoilt Finnish Lapland is, while penetrating close-ups conjure up the various animals on your screen in pin-sharp detail. Running wolves and reindeer, which shoot like graceful bolts through the difficult snow, also guarantee a few breathtaking action scenes. The pictures of the Northern Lights, a natural phenomenon that for reindeer not only provides a wonderful play of colors, but also a heavenly map, are a joy to behold.

In terms of tone, ‘Aïlo, the brave reindeer’ is a family film that is suitable for young and old. Nevertheless, the dark sides of a wild existence in the wild are not completely ignored. Narrator Floortje Dessing, for example, mentions the fact that almost half of the young reindeer never reach adulthood. In addition, it emphasizes that ‘our world is a hard world, made of flesh and blood, water and fire and joy and sorrow’. This philosophical message is visually supported by also showing brief images of fallen reindeer that have lost the battle for survival.

‘Aïlo, the Brave Reindeer’ is an immersive winter adventure that you can enjoy with the whole family. You will naturally admire the persevering reindeer cub and his congeners, animals that have to survive in an environment where only the real go-getters survive. This is therefore a film that is ideal for viewing, especially during the dark days before Christmas.