Nest (2022)
I am gonna guess that Hlynur Pálmason had some film reel left over from Godland so he made this. Shot in the same photographic like format in 1.33 with rounded corners as in Godland with a single static camera setting showing the same spot through different seasons and weather conditions. He has used that same technique in both Godland and A White, White Day and every time I am impressed with how much variation the Icelandic landscape goes through.
During the 20 minute runtime we see Pálmason’s own children playing in a treehouse built on top of an old electric pole over the course of a year. There is no narrative or evne much happening other than the changes provided by the weather and the construction of the house.
It is impossible to express why this isn’t totally boring to watch, but the cinematography in all of Pálmason’s pictures have always encaptured me. The viewer is really just left to ones thought on what to make of this, and for myself I couldn’t help feel some envy towards these kids and how they get to such beautiful nature in their backyard. I live in the city with my family, and while do have a garden and some sort of “wild nature” within walking distance, it will never be like this. And I would probably be too nervous anyway to let them play at such heights. So there is something of a romanticized depiction of the carefree childhood in harmony with nature at display here, that us cityfolks may dream of but we couldn’t actually live like this if we ever got the opportunity.
Rating: 3.5