Some Survival-Related Films to Warm Your Bones

With much of the country deep in the clutches of a brutal winter, I thought I’d toss out a few bushcraft and survival-related flicks to consider while hunkered down on the couch while the howling wind slams down the powder against your abode.

Castaway
The perfect movie to help fend off cabin-fever. Tom Hanks in a groundshaking look at solo survival in the Pacific. What’s not to like about Hanks cursing at his Wilson volleyball, his primal joy in creating fire by friction, and his ultimate return to the world. Not many viewers are aware that script-writer William Broyles (who also penned Apollo 13 with Hanks) spent time on a desert island in Baja learning castaway skills with primitive technologist Steve Watts and company. During their training, a bunch of “junk” washed up on the beach one day and they found a box of Japanese videotapes, a pair or ice-skates, and….a Wilson volleyball.

Into The Wild
Actor Emile Hirsch wistfully portrays the fate of Chris McCandless who perished from starvation in Alaska after a months-long solo trip ended badly. I liked the movie better than the book and chunks of it were filmed in my backyard in Arizona. I had the good fortune of taking Emile Hirsch out for a 3-day training course prior to filming and he was a cool, laid-back dude who was clearly intent on his craft.  I’ve written before about our outing in my book, Life Under Open Skies and Emile portrayed the challenges of living off the land extremely well. I’m still astounded at how deeply this story runs through youth culture in our country and many of my college students still bring up the McCandless story around the campfire. McCandless’s sister just came out with a book recounting her experiences growing up with her brother and what may have led him to the path he took in Alaska.

The Snow Walker
Based upon one of my favorite authors, Canadian writer Farley Mowat, this movie was adapted from a short story called “Walk Well My Brother” in the book, The Snow Walker.  This movie was instantly praised within the survival community as getting it right, as far as having realistic skills and the power of mental attitude in overcoming adversity. A truly poignant and moving account of one man’s efforts to save himself and the young Inuit girl in his care after their plane goes down in the tundra during the 1950s. Some of the best acting, scenery, and storyline you are likely to see in a movie. Next to Jeremiah Johnson, this is the other movie I always recommend to students of mine. Pick up a copy of Mowat's The Snow Walker book and read the other amazing tale, The Blood in Their Veins for a story you'll never forget.

Defiance
I read the book on Tuvia Bielski years ago and eagerly awaited the release of this film with actor Daniel Craig (007) which he said was one of the most profound roles of his life. The Bielski brothers kept their group of over 1200 people alive in the boreal forests of Belarus during WWII while evading Nazi troops, tending to illness, rearing kids, finding food, and coping with brutal winters. If you get this movie, check out the special features which has interviews with the present-day descendants of the survivors and the Bielski brother’s own kids who served as consultants on the film. I went to a talk in Flagstaff a few years back by Zvi Bielski who is the son of Zus Bielski (played by Liev Schreiber in the movie). The book by Peter Duffy, "The Bielski Brothers" was recommended above others by Zvi. You can read more from my previous blog posting on this but be aware there are spoilers.

 After I left the theater and, later after hearing Zvi’s presentation, I kept thinking, “What the hell do I have to complain about in life?” This is a truly astounding film experience about the triumph of the human spirit.

Jeremiah Johnson
"The Rocky Mountains are the marrow of the world..." I think this is the most quoted movie on our fieldcourses, amongst fellow survival instructors, and at rendezvous. Eighty-percent of this film’s dialogue is from actual mountain man diaries and accounts, and legendary woodsman Larry Dean Olsen was the consultant for the film so the skills are amazing. Apparently Redford really got into this role and took to the training. Filmed in some pretty amazing backcountry locations in Utah, this story is about the life of Jeremiah “Liver-Eating” Johnson (also a book) who is rumored to have dispatched several hundred Crow warriors during his tenuous stay in the Rocky Mountains during the 1830s. Some memorable scenes and a look at the harsh realities of carving out a home in the wilds and just how harsh life is when trying to procure food from the land. This movie, with its bent for realism, is a 180 from the romantic Hollywood flick, Dances With Wolves. Just remember to "watch yer topknot, pilgrim."

Alive: Miracle in the Andes
I remember reading about this story in the news when I was a kid  and later read the book on the harrowing and horrific story about the Andes plane crash survivors. This movie, with actor Ethan Hawke, was made with one of the actual Uruguayan survivors, Nando Parrado, serving as a consultant so the details are spot-on from what Parrado indicated. The movie recounts the story of the ill-fated rugby team who crashed in the Andes in 1972 at 11,000 feet and whose 16 survivors had to endure 72-days of bone-numbing temperatures along with having to make the decision to consume their own dead. After several decades of indecision, Parrado eventually wrote a book about his experience which should be required reading for anyone involved in not only survival but leadership, crisis management, disaster planning, or anyone who wants to learn more about survival psychology. See the movie and then watch the hour-long documentary- Alive: 20 Years Later.

Other Outstanding Movies With a Survival Theme

The Fast Runner
Black Robe
Quest for Fire
All Is Lost
The Naked Prey
Dersu Uzala

Last of the Mohicans
The Edge
Walkabout
Ten Canoes
The Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
Unbroken

If there’s another film that should be on the list, send me an email.

Five Survival Myths

Many readers email me about the survival skills that show up in movies or so-called reality shows. Being involved in educating others over the past 25 years, I thought I’d mention a few myths & misconceptions that have crept into the field of survival.

1)  Can you really get water from a cactus?

There’s a reason you don’t find cactus juice at the grocery store. It’s a noxious substance full of alkaloids that can push a heat-stressed individual into heat-stroke. The few times I’ve tried this  method, to glean its supposed usefulness, has seen me nauseous. Carry water with you in the desert or hole up like a cowboy during the heat of the day until you can locate water. A person sitting in the shade in 90 degree F weather will expend six-quarts of water over 24-hours so there’s no substitute for being prepared in the wilds.

2) If the world falls apart, I can just grab my rifle and bug-out-bag and retreat to the wilds for a few years until society re-establishes itself, right?

Living off the land in a solo fashion is brutal. There’s a reason our ancestors lived in tribes- it takes a lot of people on the land to provide sustenance. It is far better to have some supplies on hand at home and then augment your pantry with any wild game, fish, or edible plants that you might be versed in obtaining. Even better than that is to have a like-minded group of family and friends that you can work together with to ride out such a disaster. I wish life in the wilds were like the romanticism found in the movie Dances With Wolves but it’s more like the harsh reality of the film, The Snow Walker.

3) I saw this reality-show where the guy was lost and rubbed two-sticks together to start a fire. Is that possible?

None of us would be here today if our ancestors hadn’t mastered the fine art of friction firemaking but this is a skill to practice on camping trips and backyard outings. Modern survival is about being prepared and carrying at least three firestarters (Stormproof matches, spark-rod, and lighter) with you at all times when in the backcountry. I teach primitive firemaking skills to show my students how to perform the method but find that, even under the best of conditions, it is a challenge and not reliable for most people. This is not the method I want to use if I am lost, injured, or stranded in the wilds with the sun going down! I've worked as a consultant on several reality shows and, with the exception of Survivorman, these shows are heavily-scripted. On one program, there was a crew of 12 people accompanying us, including two staff whose sole job was to drag around coolers filled with double-shot espressos and sandwiches while filming scenes of the host living off the land. That was my last involvement with "reality-TV." There's nothing romantic or fun about real survival- it's only adventure in retrospect.

4) My buddy said that if you’re thirsty, you should put a pebble under your tongue and that will help you stay hydrated. Does that really work?

This simply stimulates the saliva glands which can help get rid of cottonmouth (which in turn helps briefly with your mental attitude) but you’re not actually adding water to your body, only redistributing existing fluids. In the intense heat of the Southwest, I sometimes consume 2-3 gallons of water per day so this is not a viable method for staying hydrated.

5) I have a three-month supply of food, ammo, water, and supplies laid in, just in case there’s a disaster. Is this enough to weather out the crisis?

 There are no cookie-cutter answers. It all depends on your region, time of year, weather, family size, budget, and other variables. Having supplies ahead of time is critical but, in the end, it’s people working together and the power of community that often saves the day. Look at present-day examples from around the country and you will see that it is human goodwill that makes life possible after a disaster in addition to well-thought out supplies. All this being said, the six key areas to plan for when preparing your home are: food, water (and water purification), medical supplies, security, hygiene, and alternative power.

Peter Kummerfeldt: A True Master of Survival

In November, I had the great fortune of working once again with master survival instructor Peter Kummerfeldt at a Wilderness Medicine Society conference in Tucson. In addition to being someone who was clearly born to teach, Peter has some of the most extensive global survival experience of anyone I know of in the field. He is the real deal. When he speaks about the intense heat and varied wildlife in Africa, or building an igloo in northern Alaska when it was -30, or trekking in the jungle for days with only his machete, you know he's really done it. Peter spent 30 years as an Air-Force Survival instructor and then later as a professional hunting guide in the Rockies. Prior to that, he grew up in Kenya and currently offers his own photo-safari trips to various regions of Africa.

 

One of my favorite quotes from his lecture on survival was: "Forget that old saying, 'You will rise to the occasion during a crisis.' That's absurd. However, you will settle to the level of your training." Time and again, Peter has always stressed that having the proper gear is not enough- you have to know how to use it and try it out under non-survival conditions.

One of Peter's hands-on survival classes in the Rocky Mountains.

I am always humbled being in Peter's presence and was honored to co-teach several desert survival workshops with him. If you have a chance, take his one-day survival class which he offers around the country and pick up a copy of his outstanding manual, Surviving a Wilderness Emergency which is one of the best books on the market today. It covers how to prepare for outdoor trips and shows exactly what field-tested gear should go into a quality survival kit. Peter's website also has volumes of comprehensive articles ranging from lightning safety to the latest research on hypothermia, international travel security, and more. We will be hosting a 2-day non-overnight survival course with Peter on October 3-4 in Flagstaff.