Hacker Cinema
The Ancient Woods
Sengirė
2018 · Film · documentary · 85 min
Directed by Mindaugas Survila
A poetic and atypical nature film about the various inhabitants of an old-growth forest, on the ground, in the air and in the water. There's no commentary, only the rich, almost palpable sounds of the forest and the magical situations captured by the camera. Although we might sometimes be puzzled as to what's actually happening a mating ritual or the start of a fight? the lack of explanation leaves space for us to associate freely and simply experience the images. The film offers a close-up view of a wide range of creatures such as the insect that appears out of the melting snow, gradually begins to move and impatiently waits until all its legs are free so it can fly away. The scale of the portraits is sometimes grand and at other times modest, but always filmed with precision, whether in daylight or at night. Time doesn't seem to matter in this extraordinary piece of slow cinema.
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1 comment on Hacker News
"Forest of the Gods" is a very good film.
But there are a few Lithuanian films that are my all-time favourites (besides "Forest of the Gods"):
1. "The Ancient Woods": https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/487463-the-ancient-woods
"The Ancient Woods" is, perhaps, the best film I ever watched—it is actually a documentary.
It has one shot with a human and there are no human voices in the whole film.
It is a love letter to the "untouched nature" (of Lithuania).
2. "The Collectress": https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/56074-kolekcionier
3. "You Am I": https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/12681-a-esi-tu
4. "Vanishing Waves": https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/133764-aurora
5. "The Summer of Sungaile": https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/310568-the-summer-of-sangaile
And some to not use too much the brain and have a fun time:
* "Redirected" (by the way, in English): https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/190469-redirected-u-lietuv
* "Patriotai" ("Patriots"): https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/408809-patriotai
* "How Saul and Paul Robbed Them All": https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/349954-how-saul-and-paul-robbed-them-all
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Just to add to your comments, the events on (the book) "Forest of the Gods" (which the film is based on) are based on the real experience of the main character, "the Professor" [1].
There are some criticism on whether the events are 100% faithful to the reality [2], but indifferent to that, it is a hell of a piece of art!
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balys_Sruoga
[2]: I am sorry, but I don't remember where I got that information. It is not that important, anyhow.