'Land' is a film that follows Edee, a woman trying to rediscover the meaning of life in the harsh wilderness of the American Rockies. Following a tragedy in her life that leaves her without her family, husband and son, Edee retreats to a cabin in the mountains, cutting herself off from the outside world as she wants to grieve by herself and not interact with society.
On settling down in the cabin, Edee discovers that she is ill-equipped for living in the unforgiving wilderness and soon runs out of supplies. As winter takes its toll, Edee nearly dies from exposure, but is discovered by a local hunter, Miguel. Bringing her back from the brink of death, the two slowly form a friendship as Miguel teaches Edee how to hunt, trap and fend for herself. Soon Edee adapts to her new way of life and becomes more open with Miguel, and starts to appreciate her surroundings and her way of life.
The two spend time together, but after some time passes Miguel stop coming by. Making her way to the nearest town, Edee tracks down Miguel and learns he is dying of cancer. In their last meeting, Miguel opens up about how he lost his wife and child, allowing Edee to open up about her loss. The film concludes by Edee phoning her sister, suggesting she is ready to reconnect and carry on.
'Land' is a picturesque film, showing how a woman having lost her will to live struggles to adapt to a harsh new way of life. At the same time, Edee's struggle to adapt to being self-sufficient parallels her struggle to cope with the grief of having lost her son and husband in a mass shooting. The journey the main character goes on is a gruelling and hard fight as Edee is set on living on her own, and through her solace try to deal with her pain. The main turning point in Edee's journey is her near death experience. As Miguel finds her and nurses her back to health, the kind actions of the stranger help pull Edee out of suffering by herself.
As Miguel teaches Edee the necessary skills to survive, through hard work she is able to focus on becoming truly independent and slowly finds the ability to face what has happened to her. The trials and tribulations that Edee goes through teach her not only how to be truly self-reliant, but opens her up to appreciating the world around her, finding joy and amazement in the wilderness and a kindred spirit in Miguel.
As Edee and Miguel share more with each other, we ultimately find out that Miguel was the reason for losing his family, as he used to drink heavily and caused the car crash that ended his wife and daughters lives. After hearing of it, Edee is able to reveal the her husband and son perished in a shooting. Even prior to learning how the characters families passed away, the meeting of these two people echoes a kind of cosmic chance happening, where both of them have lost the meaning in their lives as their loved ones have perished. Even although it has happened for very different reasons, the two characters share their pain with each other even though Miguel is not aware of what Edee has a been through until the very end of their friendship.
'Land' shows us Edee's journey and pain through her starting a new life in the wilderness, depicting the difficult position she is in emotionally. As time passes, she is however pulled from her deepest and darkest place both emotionally and physically via the chance encounter with Miguel. 'Land' goes to lengths in illustrating the enormous pain that is grief by finding a physical space for that pain to manifest in through the unforgiving nature of the Rockies landscape.
The film also teaches us that retreating to suffer by yourself can be difficult. The introduction of a well meaning passer by shows us how the people around us can be kind, helpful and can create a safe space to cope in even although we may have previously decided that the best course of action is to grieve in solitude. Robin Wright portrays Edee, the woman that has made up her mind in trying to make her life work and to cope with her pain. Wright does well to illustrate both the emotional and practical struggles she faces, and delivers a powerful performance in showing the strife she faces within and the physical struggle in her new habitat. Without a needlessly grim approach to the part, Wright carries the film and shows us the journey Edee goes through, allowing us to appreciate her new-found joy for life by embracing the nature around her, leaving us wanting to be able to escape the city surroundings and seek out to find that same joy.
Demián Bichir plays Miguel, the unassuming hunter that does what he believes to be the right thing when he encounters Edee. Bichir delivers a very earnest and solemn performance, allowing for the delicate and honest friendship to flourish between Edee and Miguel. By portraying Miguel as a straightforward and uncomplicated individual, Bichir creates a safe and welcoming presence both for Edee and the audience.
The film is helmed by Robin Wright in her feature directorial debut. Through taking advantage of the beautiful scenery and highlighting the simple beauty of the Rockies, Wright delivers a heartfelt and beautiful interpretation of emotional strife mirrored in the unforgiving wilderness. Through her main character learning to cope with survival, she equally becomes more comfortable in facing her inner daemons and is able to gain new appreciation of her life.
The story is written by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam, who have created an uncomplicated and simple story of the deep and dark places people can go to when they believe there is nothing left for them. By showing Edee's full journey, Chatham and Dignam successfully show the characters development that feels natural and empowering.
'Land' is outstanding both in its visual style and uncomplicated story that allows the viewer to appreciate the pain and grief that Edee is experiencing and the depths that she sinks to. At the same time, we get to witness her make her way back to some form of normalcy as she befriends Miguel and find comfort in each other company. A fine rendering of emotional pain reflected in the harsh wilderness of the Rockies, 'Land' is an excellent exploration of both the world within Edee as it is outside and around her.
Score: 3/4
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