To tame the wolves further, Annaud hired the world's best animal trainers from Canada.

"They treated the animals as though they were their children," Annaud said in an earlier interview with the entertainment portal Sohu.com.

"I respected the animals and took them as humans, in some sense. When I shot the animals, it was a way to get access to the hidden instincts of human beings, such as sexual attraction and the desire to dominate."

Set during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), the movie revolves around a pack of Mongolian wolves' battles against settlers who plunder their winter prey and damage their habitat, where wolves have lived for centuries.

The plot－seen from the perspective of a Beijing student sent to the remote grasslands of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region during the nationwide re-education campaign－is based on the real-life experiences of the novel's writer Lyu Jiamin, better known as Jiang Rong.

The lead actor, Feng Shaofeng, says half in jest: "The wolves are principal actors in the movie. They were the bosses. We had to follow their schedule. They usually worked only one hour a day."

The actor says that he finally won over his co-stars after he learned to clean and feed them.

While Chinese film industry insiders view Wolf Totem as the hottest ticket for this holiday season, the movie has also grabbed international attention.

The 72-year-old French director said in a recent interview with Reuters that he had "carte blanche" on the project, and his screenplay was not edited at all by the country's broadcasting regulator.

"The movie you see is the same movie I cut," Annaud was quoted by Reuters as saying.