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The Last Trapper Review by Margaret Pomeranz French documentary director Nicolas Vanier, who brought us TRAVELLING BIRDS and MICROCOSMOS, spent a year with Canadian trapper Norman Winther who lives with his wife, Nebraska, out in the Yukon wilderness. He's The Last Trapper in this magnificent country. Norman is dependent on his team of dogs for survival in the harsh winters. He's devastated when his lead dog is accidentally killed and is less than enthusiastic about the gift of a replacement, a young female called Apache. Norman's existence as a trapper is continually threatened by the gradual encroachment of the logging industry. The Last Trapper is part documentary and partly constructed narrative. The real stuff is so real that the contrived is noticeable and the film's take on the role of man keeping nature in balance is a bit insistent. And I did think that the film wanted to have it both ways. It wants to be a hymn to nature and to Norman's way
