There are not too many movies about Alaska that I do not enjoy, with the exception of Into the Wild (2007).  However, can we really call that a film about our northern most state?  In it, Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch) spends years preparing to live in our last true wilderness, only to get there and die within less than a year.  Most of the plot is about the journey rather than his ineptitude in the Yukon.  Then again, I am not sure if today’s flick, White Fang (1991), is set in Alaska or Canada.  Its backdrop is the late nineteenth century Klondike Gold Rush.  That encompasses territory on both sides of the border.  Yet, if Wikipedia is willing to say it takes place in Alaska, then I guess I will say the same.  Anyway, on with the review of the movie adaptation of arguably Jack London’s most famous work of the same title.

My patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi, would be happy that White Fang begins (and ends) with a disclaimer about the care the movie took to avoid animal cruelty.  Why is this important, you might ask?  Because the first characters we see are not of the human variety, but rather wolves.  Our title canine is just a pup at the moment, his mother being partly domesticated and having to steal from a nearby pack to provide for her offspring.  We then meet Jack Conroy (Ethan Hawke), who has come to Alaska at the behest of his late father Scott Conroy (not pictured).  The letter summoning Jack north talked of the son taking over the father’s gold claim in a remote area of the Yukon.  Upon stepping off the boat that brings him to this locale, he is immediately accosted by a group of disreputable people led by Beauty Smith (James Remar).  They say that they know Scott but this is a lie to part Jack from a few of his earthly possessions.  Getting out of town as fast as he can, Jack ascends the so-called “golden stairs” to where other prospectors assemble to head into the wilderness to find their riches.  Jack begins asking around again for people who might be familiar with his father, and is fortunate to bump into Clarence “Skunker” Thurston (Seymour Cassel).  While Skunker does know Scott, he also aware that Jack’s dad is dead.  Nonetheless, Jack is determined to push on to see his father’s land.  This is when Skunker’s friend, Alex Larson (Klaus Maria Brandauer), intervenes, reiterating the notion that Jack should go home.  Jack’s sheer determination changes their mind about him, and they agree to accompany him so far as the Yukon River where they plan to bury their other late friend.  As they travel deeper into the forest, their only other companion is a pack of wolves that follow them, hoping to make a meal out of the sled dogs pulling the coffin of their fallen comrade.  At one point, the pack gets too close, and Skunker dies protecting their camp.  Before he falls, he manages to mortally wound White Fang’s mother.  Jack notices the orphaned pup as they move on, wondering if he will make it on his own.  Alex has his doubts, but is not keen on stopping to help.  Soon, White Fang is caught in a trap laid by Athabaskan native peoples.  It is not deadly, and when they see that he is not fully a wolf, they decide to take him in and make him a work dog.  Meanwhile, Alex and Jack push on to a town in the interior, and where Alex intends to part ways with Jack.  Yet, Alex finds that he has formed a bond with the young man.  Because of this, instead of heading to San Francisco to start a new life with Belinda Casey (Susan Hogan), Alex’s sweetheart, he decides to go with Jack to Scott’s claim.  On the way to the cabin, Alex and Jack visit the Athabaskan camp where Jack spots White Fang.  The dog hybrid seems to recognize Jack, defending the human from a bear attack.  Yet, White Fang’s value to Grey Beaver (Pius Savage) is in the labor the animal can provide.  We see this when Grey Beaver brings White Fang to the same town we just saw.  The massive former wolf is immediately spotted by Beauty, who has come north with his gang, and immediately tricks Grey Beaver out of White Fang’s ownership.  Beauty then turns White Fang into a fighting dog, continually beating the pooch to keep him angry and winning.  Luckily, this stops when Alex and Jack return to town for supplies, and stumble upon the fighting ring.  Jack takes in a wounded White Fang, though Alex cautions against it.  With patience, Jack eventually turns White Fang into more of a pet, albeit one with a wilder side than most.  This is followed by Jack accidentally stumbling upon, almost literally, a large vein of gold in the mine started by his father.  When Jack takes it back to the settlement to have its purity tested, it comes back as being nearly completely genuine.  He also decides to split the profits fifty-fifty with Alex. Unfortunately, Beauty and his two cronies follow Jack back to his cabin, determined to get their prize dog back.  They attempt to burn the cabin down around Alex and Jack, but White Fang helps turn the tide of the battle against the attackers, angrily springing on Beauty.  Alex and Jack then parade Beauty’s gang through town before handing them over to the authorities.  With their affairs, and futures, essentially settled, Alex offers Jack half ownership of the hotel he intends to open in San Francisco with Belinda.  Jack appears to accept the offer, getting White Fang to run away into the woods.  But, before he can board the boat that will take him south with Alex and Belinda, Jack has a change of heart.  Instead, he returns to his claim.  As he is rebuilding his home, White Fang appears and the movie ends.

One of my dear friends, the person who probably loves dogs more than anyone I know, would not like White Fang.  She is not alone in stating that she will not watch a film in which the dog dies.  I cannot say that I blame her.  While such scenes will not cause me to turn off a movie or immediately walk out of a theater, watching animals of any form suffer is unenjoyable, to say the least.  As I mentioned at the outset of my description, there are two different disclaimers about animal cruelty.  The second of these, coming before the end credits begin rolling, is issued by the American Humane Society and comes with a sterner warning about why treating our furry friends poorly is a bad idea.  Whenever this is connected to Catholicism, we tend to do what I did in that first sentence of the second paragraph: reference St. Francis of Assisi.  There is nothing wrong with doing so.  He was an incredible person.  If you drive around suburban, or even urban areas, you will see his statue, typically adorned with birds.  He is the patron of animals, avians, and the environment, so it makes sense when you see his likeness in stone in gardens of all varieties.  Indeed, I have seen such images pop-up in the homes of non-Catholics, which makes me wonder if they really know anything about the person it is representing.  He got his reputation from what is perhaps a legendary moment in his life when he delivered a sermon to the birds, and any other creature within earshot, having grown tired of inattentive human audiences at Mass.  Because of all these things, we tend to forget that he was truly a revolutionary figure.  In thirteenth century Europe, the Church was opulent, and many joined its ranks for reasons not dissimilar to why people like Jack ventured into the Klondike: in search of riches.  Of course, the Church would have adhered to a different kind of wealth, but your common monk in a monastery at the time was far better off than a peasant in a field.  St. Francis of Assisi lived and preached a radical form of poverty, and had a major impact on the Church because of it.  That is his legacy, not being kind to animals, although I am sure he would approve of Jack’s actions.

Forgive me for taking a movie like White Fang to correct misconceptions about a famous saint.  Sometimes, one has to do so as a Catholic film reviewer.  The flick itself is okay, if a bit predictable.  Put differently, it is your typical Disney fare.  Make of this what you will in terms of a recommendation.