Alpha is a story not only about friendship, but also about growing up (albeit in ancient locations), willpower and survival. The film is set in the Upper Paleolithic. The main character, the son of the leader, Keda, goes with everyone to hunt buffaloes and falls off a cliff. The young man survives, but he has a long and difficult journey home.
One of the opening scenes of the film shows the initiation rite: the boys make the tip of a spear, thereby proving that they are old enough to create tools and hunt. Many guys fail to cope with this task, but the son of the leader – Keda – successfully passes it and goes on his first hunt. The father teaches the young man to be the head, citing the example of Alpha, the leader of a pack of wolves. He argues that in order to become a true leader, you need to earn it, becoming not only strong, but also wise, able to take care of your tribe and survive in any conditions.
The young man’s first hunt turns out to be unsuccessful: a buffalo throws him off a cliff, none of his fellow tribesmen manage to save him. The father, heartbroken, leaves a crust of stones on the edge of the cliff and leaves the hunting ground.
Keda survives. He falls right onto the ledge and escapes with a broken leg. Trying to climb up, he falls into the river and comes to his senses in another place. Trying to survive after the fall, Keda puts a splint on himself and starts looking for a way home. The young man has to survive the way he does: find food, make weapons and defend himself from starving wolves – all with a broken leg.
Fleeing from a pack of wolves, Keda wounds one of them and does not dare to finish him off – he begins to nurse, gradually taming him. Despite the fact that the young man chases away the wolf, he continues to follow him – this is how a quiet attachment is established between man and beast. This alignment begins to frighten Ked, he thinks that Alpha will bring a whole flock with him or attack him, but he hunts with the young man and protects him from both hyenas and from the cold when the fire goes out.
Soon, Keda becomes attached to Alpha and begins to consider him his friend, even gives him a name, remembering, it seems, his father’s story about the leader of the wolf pack.
One day, Alpha meets the wolves and Keda lets him go with them, continuing his journey in complete, oppressive loneliness. The presence of the beast kept him from falling into despair. Now, left without Alpha, he became even more homesick.
Keda continues to walk, but the weather deteriorates – a snowstorm begins, and he hardly overcomes the frozen river. Seeing how the wolves were tearing apart someone’s carcass, the young man was afraid that it could be Alpha, and, hurrying to help, fell through the ice. The wolf helped him out and began to warm him up, saving the man’s life.
Once again with a friend, Keda began to feel much better – in the company of Alpha it became more fun and easier to go home. But the weather worsened, and it became more and more difficult to continue the journey.
Keda and Alpha stumbled upon a hut, but its owner died, and there was no food inside, so the young man, taking everything he needed, continued on his way. They were again attacked by hyenas. This time, Alpha, while protecting the young man, was badly wounded. The closer they got to the Keda tribe, losing strength due to the blizzard, the harder it became to move around, especially for the injured Alpha.
Keda couldn’t leave his friend. He picked him up in his arms and carried him, barely moving his legs. From overwork, hunger and cold, they fell to the ground and died. Due to the fact that Keda was carrying Alpha on himself, he had no strength left to get up and move on, and he was ready to give up, but at the last moment he remembered the conversation of his parents. The words of his father that he is stronger than he thinks gave the young man the strength to walk home with Alpha. Once in a warm house, Alpha not only remained alive, but also gave birth to wolf cubs. They, having matured, hunted together with the tribe.
During his journey with Alpha, Keda not only found a true friend, but also developed resilience and willpower. Now he, perhaps, will become an excellent leader, because with the last of his strength he saved not only himself, but also Alpha, who became part of his tribe.
