Kurosawa invited by the former Soviet 
Union, directed this film which was 
based on the book by an Imperial 
Russian Army officer and explorer, 
Vladirnir K. Arseniev. The film presents 
the relationship between human beings 
and the natural world surrounding them. 
The film is set in Siberia and more than 
half of the four-year long filming was 
carried out in the harsh Siberian 
environment, which presented many 
difficulties.