Review of Alpha by Kathia Woods

There have been numerous movies about Man’s early days. The latest entry into this genre directed by Albert Hughes is “Alpha.”
This time the story centers around the Cro-Magnon tribe and a coming age of a young man trying to find his way in the world, in his community, and to his father.
Keda played by Kodi Smith-McPhee is the young man chosen to go on a quest with the elders. He’s shy and frightens out of his mind about the journey. His father Tau the village chief portrayed by Johannes Haukur-Johannesson reminds him constantly that his performance is a direct reflection of him. Along the route, he shares information with him that later is vital to his survival.
Fellow tribe member Kappa is a little weary about the young Keda coming along. He believes that if Keda weren’t Tau, son, he wouldn’t have been selected to make the journey.

Everything is going along nicely until they encounter the buffalo. Young Keda comes face to face with one but couldn’t kill the animal and pays the price by being thrown over the mountain and left for dead. Tau devasted must explain to his wife the one thing she feared the most.
Keda remained unconscious and urged by his fellow tribe members Tau must accept that his son is gone.
It turns out that Keda survives the ordeal and must overcome his fears. He must learn to trust himself for the first time in his life without the support of his father or tribe. Along the way, he befriends a lone wolf left behind by his pack. He names him Alpha
Together they fight harsh elements, lack of food and wild animals. Many of the skills his father taught him are the reason he survives. The wolf also protects Keda and shows him to believe in himself.

A couple of things one should be prepared for when seeing this movie. It’s not in English but rather a Nomadic language. There are subtitles. One forgets them because this movie beautifully shot. The scenes are just breathtaking. The weather is a vital part of this movie narrative to help convey the challenges Keda and Alpha face.

Albert Hughes has always been a good filmmaker, and with this movie, he shows us that he can tackle different genres and subjects.
Overall, it’s a solid outing.

On a scale of 1-10, it’s a 7
On the scale of diversity it's 4 it could have used some Native Americans.