A New Kind of Wilderness review – beautiful film of off-grid family shattered by bereavement
This sad and beautiful documentary from Norwegian film-maker Silje Evensmo Jacobsen tells a painful, complicated story, more complicated than even the film itself explicitly reveals. It's a story that the director appeared to have chanced upon through following the blog of a brilliant photographer, Maria Vatne, who recorded her idyllic wilderness existence living on a farm in Norway with her British husband Nik Payne and their three home-schooled children, Ulv, Falk, and Freja, and an elder daughter Ronja, from Maria's previous partner. But one blogpost from October 2018, titled A New Kind of Wilderness revealed that she had cervical cancer, and she died in 2019.
The film shows us the family coming to terms with their terrible loss and grief, particularly Nik. For a start, they can no longer live on their beloved farm because without Maria's photography income Nik cannot keep up the mortgage repayments; they must move to a much smaller place and the kids will go to regular school. (So their former existence was not, in fact, as 'off-grid' as all that; Maria's website reveals that she took photography assignments and the idyllic farm images perhaps functioned in a way as a shopwindow.) The film allows us to wonder if Nik's emotional wretchedness is subtly complicated by feelings of self-reproach as a breadwinner. Also, he ponders taking the children home to England where his relatives have a farm, but the children would find that insupportable and it might be the ultimate disloyalty to Maria.
Then there is Ronja, whom the film reveals to have moved back in with their dad, and her absence is itself, incidentally, something to ponder. Ronja reveals she always felt a little estranged from her half-siblings, especially Freja, and there is a painful, emotional break between the two of them as Ronja decides to move away from them all to Bodø in the remote Nordland county to train as a midwife (perhaps in an unacknowledged, unprocessed spirit of anger).
The film, with heartfelt sweetness, finally shows the children starting to grow up and move on, while for Nik it is not so easy. And then, over the closing credits, the director springs what is effectively a brilliant, subtle, extra-textual coup de cinema; she directs the audience to Maria's website, perhaps in the knowledge that they might well read Maria's blogpost from June 2016, called The Letting Go, which will send you back to watch the film all over again. A deeply humane and emotionally literate piece of work.
A New Kind of Wilderness is in UK and Irish cinemas from 16 May.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- The Guardian
Art for Everybody review – the dark side of Thomas Kinkade, ‘painter of light'
You won't find the works of Thomas Kinkade lining the walls of the Museum of Modern Art, yet the painter, who died in 2012, is one of the best-selling artists in history and his paintings hang in tens of millions of American households. Kinkade's typical subjects – rustic landscapes, sleepy cottages, quaint gazebos – bask in an idyllic calm, a luminous callback to a fabled simpler past. Turning to his unpublished archive, Miranda Yousef's engrossing documentary portrait unveils the dark shadows that lurked within the self-titled 'painter of light'. Through interviews with family members, close collaborators and critics, as well as Kinkade's own words, the film traces his meteoric success in the 1980s and 90s. Shunned by the art world, he marketed his works through home-shopping television channels and a network of franchise stores to a ravenous fanbase. The Kinkade name became a brand and his pictures were plastered on to collectible plates, cookie jars and mugs. At its peak, his empire generated more than $100m a year. Kinkade proclaimed that his art was for everybody. In reality, his paintings appealed to a specific demographic of white, conservative and largely Christian Americans. Yousef's film does touch on the ideological nature of his work – how it stands in stark contrast to, for example, the subversive art of Robert Mapplethorpe and other contemporaries – though it could have merited more in-depth insight and contextualisation. Yousef's access to Kinkade's private archive, however, is revelatory. Once tucked away in a vault, these secret canvases are haunted by tortured figures and somber landscapes, cast in subdued hues of brown, black and burgundy. Together they reflect Kinkade's struggles with depression and addiction. Here is a visual portal to a hidden side of a controversial artist – one that is not for sale. Art for Everybody is at Bertha DocHouse, London, from 13 June.
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Jeremy Clarkson's fury after pilot buzzes Diddly Squat farm four times while practising aerobatics in vintage plane
Read on to find out what cheeky gift a pal of the pilot sent Jeremy to sort the problem if it happens again DIDDLY CLOT Jeremy Clarkson's fury after pilot buzzes Diddly Squat farm four times while practising aerobatics in vintage plane Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) JEREMY Clarkson was left fuming when a biplane buzzed his farm, telling the pilot: 'Fit a f***ing silencer.' He took umbrage when ex-RAF ace and British Airways captain Mike Edwards looped Diddly Squat four times. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Jeremy Clarkson was left fuming when a biplane buzzed his farm, telling the pilot: 'Fit a f***ing silencer' Credit: PA 4 Jeremy took aim at ex-RAF ace and British Airways captain Mike Edwards 4 The Clarkson's Farm star shared a chart mapping the plane's flight path on social media The star, 65, vented on Instagram and shared the flight path. Online data showed the Pitts Special S2A spent seven minutes circling the farm at 172mph on May 3. He also wrote: 'Fit it with a f***ing silencer.' But Mike, 57, told The Sun: 'I've written to Mr Clarkson to say I'm sorry and didn't mean to cause any problems. 'I was practising my aerobatics, going up to 2,000ft and doing loops and rolls — using a railway line as a guide. 'As a professional pilot of 40 years, safety is at the heart of all I do. 'That's why I practise the routines nice and high and try and get away from people. 'I live down the road so I wouldn't want to annoy my neighbours with the noise. 'If Mr Clarkson wanted to come up with me I'd be more than happy to show him Diddly Squat Farm.' Mike learned to fly aged ten. I don't want folk going veggie due to farming crisis, rages Jeremy Clarkson - so my pub will serve pig uterus & squirrel His restored Pitts Special was built in 1972 and flown by his dad Marcus in the 1970s Rothmans display team. Flying pal Tom Saunders, 44, posted in response to Jeremy, whose farm is near Chadlington, Oxon: 'Silencer was too expensive so I sent Jeremy these earmuffs.' In another post, Tom said: 'I think somebody needs a hug.' Other fans pointed out the irony of Jeremy's complaint. One sniped: 'Man drives the loudest cars forever. Retires and complains about noise.' Another added: 'Anyone else here for the irony of the loudest man on TV throwing his toys out of the pram over one little plane?' 4 Flying ace Mike has offered to take Jeremy up in the stunt plane Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
I met ISIS bride Shamima Begum in prison camp – I felt sorry for her but saw true colours when I gave her wrong ‘gift'
AS Andrew Drury made his way through a Syrian camp looking for notorious ISIS bride Shamima Begum, his mind began to race. Although the intrepid filmmaker had been in far more perilous situations - his nerves started to get the better of him. 7 7 7 But when he was introduced to Begum - who left the UK aged 15 to join ISIS a decade ago in 2015 - he was taken aback. "She was very shaky, very nervous, very shut, emotional, tearful," Andrew told The Sun. Father-of-four Andrew met Begum, who grew up in East London, for the first of six times at the Al-Roj camp in Syria in June 2021 while filming for a documentary, Danger Zone. He initially felt sorry for Begum, then 21, and became a close confidant of the Jihadi bride - even securing a Bafta-nominated live interview with her for Good Morning Britain. In less than two years his view of Begum - accused of serving in the feared IS "morality police" and helping make suicide vests - completely changed, however. He saw a colder side when she talked about how the death of her three children no longer upset her and even expressed support of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi. Extreme adventurer Andrew, who has made treacherous journeys to North Korea and Iraq, said at first Begum was a "thin, ill-looking, sad character" who was "very apologetic". "We took a long walk around the camp, She started to relax, and she said she used to take this regular walk right around the perimeter of the camp to clear her head," he said. "After the interview finished, we walked back to the room. Normally she'd go off to a tent, but she wanted to come back to the room to get a cold drink. "Then I didn't want to insult her at that point, I wanted to say goodbye - I thought I'd never see her again. How Shamima Begum camps are fermenting twisted next generation of ISIS as kids make 'cutthroat' gesture & hurl firebombs "I said, 'Can I shake your hand?' and she asked for a hug. "So she gave me a hug and started to cry." Andrew, from Surrey, said he felt they had formed a connection and believed she regretted turning her back on Western society to join the murderous death cult. "At that point I kind of believed that she was sincere," he said. "I kind of felt sorry for her. I thought at that point she'd been radicalised online, sent out as a prescribed bridge to somebody. "She said she'd made a real bad mistake and really regretted what she'd done. "She owned up to being this person that everybody hates in the UK. "And I felt sorry for her, I've got young daughters, not a lot of difference in age, so I thought people do make mistakes, and I should give her a chance." Andrew - whose book Trip Hazard details his experience in dangerous areas - returned to the camp months later after GMB asked for his help to get an interview with Begum. The author, who has exchanged hundreds of messages with Begum, said he noticed a "subtle change" in the former Brit. Begum, who was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019, appeared to have undergone a more "Western" makeover - ditching her hijab and abaya. 7 7 "She had changed as a character," Andrew said. "She was more short. She wasn't this nervous-cry sort of character. "She looked assured, and she didn't seem such a waif character, and she seemed to be in control of herself and her emotions." Andrew told how Begum spent the night before the live interview "rehearsing" with three of her friends In the camp, which is controlled by armed guards. He added: "Her friends said they'd had their music playing and they were tutoring Shamima what to say. "They seemed pretty together about what she should say, and they were schooling her." Begum married an IS fighter soon after arriving in Syria and went on to have three children, none of whom survived. Andrew - who said he had formed a "bond" with Begum - told how after the interview, Shamima opened her purse and showed him photos of her children. The tragic loss of his own brother Robert as a child made him sympathise with Shamima's plight. "One of them was a scene where the child must have been eight, nine months old, had chocolate around his face," he recalled. "I said, 'What's that?' and she said, 'Oh we used to like baking cakes'. "And it actually makes me quite sad. It was really quite sad knowing the child had died. "She made it sound like an honour that she had shared these pictures with me, which I guess it probably was, because she hadn't shared them before she said." 7 But it was Begum's attitude after Andrew returned to the UK that shocked him - and began to shatter their relationship. "I said to her, 'Those pictures you showed me really upset me, I hope you're okay'," he said. "She messaged back and said, 'Oh, they don't bother me anymore. That doesn't make me sad'. "I thought, was that because she's been traumatised so badly? "But I think she is that hard. I think she's calculated. "I actually don't think the death of her children actually bothered her in the slightest. She was not at all affected by it." After meeting Andrew a couple of times, Begum started asking him to bring stuff into the camp for her - including clothes. The dad said he felt "at a crossroads" about whether to take what she wanted. "I felt bad and guilty that I'd be taking somebody that carried out what could have been some atrocities, clothes," he said. "But then, probably on the soft side of me, and the fact is, she was a young girl, so I was playing with these emotions, but I took her the clothes from Primark. "We had a bundle of stuff, we took some toys for the children because it's not their fault." But then Begum's requests started turning into demands, Andrew said. "The messages continued," he added. Camps breeding next ISIS generation Exclusive by Henry Holloway, Deputy Foreign Editor and Alan Duncan A CHILD no older than eight draws his hand across his neck in a chilling throat-slitting gesture - the message is clear, "You are not welcome here". Other kids hurl stones, shout and scream - while one exasperated camp official shows us CCTV of two youngsters hurling a firebomb. Welcome to camps al-Hol and al-Roj in northern Syria - the fates of which remain uncertain after the fall of tyrant Bashar al-Assad. It is warned these stark detention centres are now the breeding ground for the next generation of the bloodthirsty cult. And much of this new wave of radicalisation is feared to be coming from the mothers inside the camps. Senior camp official Rashid Omer said: "The reality is - they are not changing. This is not a normal camp - this a bomb." He went on: "They are saying it was ISIS who 'liberated' Damascus - and soon they will be coming here." "And then they want to spread to Europe, to Africa, and then to everywhere." The two sprawling sites hold a total of nearly 60,000 including ISIS fighters, families and children. At least 6,000 Westerners are still held among them - including infamous jihadi bride Shamima Begum, the 25-year-old from London. "This time they became slightly more angry, slightly more direct." Before he planned to return to Syria again, Begum told him she wanted two books - Guantanamo Bay Diaries and Sea Prayer - which is inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis. Andrew said she was also being schooled by her lawyer about her media presence. He added: "What she declared by then is that she was hostage in a prison camp - where they were legally held. "That's how she started to see herself. All apologies had gone. "She'd done a documentary with the BBC and was on the front of The Times magazine. "She'd become a celebrity and was loving all the attention. She'd read all the newspaper articles." Andrew - who returned to the camp with a friend and no crew - took some clothes for Begum with him. But it was his decision not to take the books she had demanded that revealed her true colours. "I did go back again, but my feelings were already changing towards her," Andrew said. "It was a little boy's birthday, and I felt so sorry for him. "He wanted a Superman outfit, so I would have gone just for that, because I spend a lot of time in refugee camps. It's not fair for these kids. "I didn't take the books Shamima wanted because I didn't want to. I didn't want her to have that opportunity to what I saw as studying how to be a victim. "She opened the clothes, said she didn't like them. I mean, this is a girl in a prison camp. "She said, 'I didn't really care about the clothes, it was the books I wanted'. So she became quite aggressive in her nature." Who is Shamima Begum? ISIS bride Shamima Begum, who was born in Britain, was stripped of her British citizenship on February 20, 2019. Begum had fled the UK in February 2015 with two other Bethnal Green schoolgirls to join the fledgling caliphate in Iraq and Syria which had emerged out of the chaos of war in those two countries. In February 2019, after the ISIS empire fell, she declared that she wanted to come home with her son. But she appeared to show no remorse and called the 2017 Manchester Arena massacre of 22 people attending a concert 'justified". Her principled position has sparked intense debate about the UK's responsibilities to jihadis who despise the country and everything it stands for, but want to return from Syria. The case took a dramatic turn on February 20 2019 when it emerged the Home Office had opted to strip Ms Begum of her British citizenship. Begum claims she is " willing to change" her ways while pleading for "mercy" from Britain. Her appeals against the decision have all been denied. Begum's attitude then worsened when Andrew became interested in another girl's story. It was one of the final nails in the coffin in the bond Andrew believed they had initially formed. "Shamima had a tantrum that the attention had been taken away from her," he said. "She was like a child that was pretending they were ill. "So during this period of time I was beginning to feel like the connection was gone. "It was broken, and I was beginning not to like her. "I could see things in her I didn't like. I didn't trust her. Her behaviour was poor. She was angry and aggressive. "I had found out from other girls what she was accused of, and they told me the same thing that I had heard before, like sewing suicide vests "Things were ringing in my head like she said early on that the Manchester bombing was legitimate because of what happened in Iraq and Syria. "So I didn't trust her." Andrew's last contact with Begum was around two years ago in a fiery text exchange. She accused Andrew of "selling her out", to which he shot back: "You've sold your country out." Begum last year lost her final appeal challenging the removal of her British citizenship. She can now no longer fight to overturn the revocation of her citizenship within the UK legal system. Andrew said: "I think she's a danger for what she stood for, and I don't think she could ever come back. "I think she needs to go on trial in Syria for the crimes she committed against the Syrian people."
