How a Banned French Director Filmed Real Wolves in the Heart of China
In short: Jean-Jacques Annaud was once persona non grata in China for his film Seven Years in Tibet. Yet, he was later tapped to direct the 2015 epic Wolf Totem. To capture the authentic behavior of Mongolian wolves, he spent years training a pack of thirty-five animals in the wild.
The 2015 film Wolf Totem, based on Jiang Rong’s 2004 semi-autobiographical novel, tells the story of a student sent to Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution. While the book is known for its critique of Han Chinese group-think and Confucian political rhetoric, the film adaptation—directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud—shifted focus toward environmental themes. This pivot was essential for navigating Chinese censorship, as the production team sought to frame the narrative as a story about the relationship between humanity and nature.
Annaud’s involvement was surprising to many, given that his 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet remained banned in China. To secure the project, Annaud reportedly issued a public apology in 2009, distancing himself from the Dalai Lama and Tibet’s independence movement. This move, combined with his reputation for working with animals, helped him gain the trust of Chinese state-backed producers. The production was a massive undertaking, featuring a US$40 million budget and a crew of over 400 people working in the harsh conditions of Inner Mongolia.
The film’s most striking technical achievement was the use of real Mongolian wolves rather than dogs or CGI. Annaud acquired a dozen wolf pups from a Harbin zoo and hired Scottish trainer Andrew Simpson to raise them over four years. The wolves were trained to perform specific actions on cue, such as sitting or fighting. Because the wolves only understood English commands, they were relocated to Canada after filming concluded. While the film received mixed reviews for softening the novel’s political edge, critics like Maggie Lee praised the visual intensity of the wolf sequences and James Horner’s final score.
The production serves as a landmark in Sino-French cultural cooperation, emerging as one of the first eight official co-productions following a 2010 treaty. Despite the logistical challenges—including extreme weather and the difficulty of filming in 3D on the steppes—the film grossed over US$122 million worldwide. It remains a complex example of how international directors navigate the intersection of state censorship, environmental storytelling, and the pursuit of cinematic authenticity.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Wolf Totem (film)
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