19/10/2025 first watch

The opening shot is so mesmerising - it feels like those trees are literally there passing by in front of you and the screen is a little window you have to look through. I felt there were black bars closing in on the top and bottom of the screen and that the camera was panning/about to pan down but neither were ever true - such a great opening. The score is beautiful as well - whenever it suddenly cuts out it’s like a punch to the gut. The first half an hour in general is really enjoyable and quite peaceful. You feel in the back of your mind that something is going to disturb that but whilst you’re in it, you can appreciate every inch of the screen for every scene. 

The meeting scene is so well done and so gripping, despite not being overly dramatised. The pauses, the changes in momentum, tone and facial expressions are so evident and natural. You start with two sides - a good and a bad but as it progresses and the following scenes show that, as it so frequently the case the ones presenting the problem are not the instigators themselves and you get time to humanise them, and for many probably relate to their experience of the world, capitalism etc. 

The final third of the film, I feel more conflicted by, not because I feel it is not good but because I don’t know how well I understand it. We are settlers and in nearly every place disrupt the flow and do not bring the balance that is spoken about in the meeting. And for this we have to suffer the consequences and accept it’s our collective doing - this I take away and feel I understand but the ending is so abrupt and discomforting that I want to uncover more behind its intention. Already seen several people say it requires a rewatch and that actually a third watch is when it clicks for people. I’ll happily let the rhythmic chores and cycles of nature wash over me again before trying to make more sense of it, so will try to watch it again soon.