Way of Nature

Naturens gang

(Sweden, 2008, 108 mins, DigiBeta)

North American Premiere

PROD/CAM: Nina Hedenius
ED: Ulf Neidemar

Not a word is spoken in director Nina Hedenius' depiction of the passage of four seasons on a remote (and exceptionally well-managed) Swedish farm. But as the ordinary activity of farm life (both human and animal) unfolds with almost stately grace, something curious begins to happen. A cow delivering twin calves, with help from the farmer, is as riveting as anything Shakespeare ever penned. Not only does the irrelevance of language become readily apparent, but so does the meaninglessness of much of contemporary culture. Nowhere is this more explicit than in a scene where farmer Karl Gustav Hedling, draped with his favorite dogs, sleeps peacefully, undisturbed by radio broadcasts of distant wars and calamities.

As the seasons progress, the characters of different animals reveal themselves in all their precision and exactitude--be it the capriciousness of goats, the patience of terriers or the equine equanimity of draft horses. Humans too are revealed through their actions, especially in the slow and methodical act of making things by hand, be it cheese or a wooden fence. As the relationship between the farmers, the animals and the land becomes part of a great symphonic continuum, the story reveals itself like a canvas, painted stroke by stroke, in absolutely exquisite detail. By the end of this extraordinary film you may be positively giddy with pleasure, and possessed of the burning desire to head to Northern Sweden. I'm way ahead of you.

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