Songs of Earth

Taking a cruise to see the fjords while on a trip to Norway is one of my very favorite travel experiences so as soon as I saw the trailer for the documentary Songs of Earth (it was Norway's entry for the Best International Film at the Academy Awards this year) I immediately wanted to see it.  I had the opportunity last night at the Broadway and it is stunning!  Filmmaker Margreth Olin returns to her childhood home in Oldendalen in Western Norway, where generations of her family have lived dating back to the 1600s, to spend a year with her father Jørgen Mykløen in order to experience all four seasons with him and to explore his deep connection to nature.  This features absolutely gorgeous aerial shots of the Oldeeva river valley, the Nordfjorden fjord, the steep mountains surrounding the Jostedalsbreen glacier at one end and the Myklebustbreen glacier at the other end, and the Oldevatnet lake as well as close-up shots of the wildlife (the owls were my favorite).  I especially loved an extended shot that follows the progression of a stream as it becomes a river, a lake, a waterfall, a glacier, and then, finally, the top of a mountain peak.  The camera also follows Jørgen as he walks through the valley, hikes the mountain, canoes on the lake, skates on the ice, and ruminates on the importance of being present as one experiences nature.  He speaks about the lessons one can learn from nature when he finds a small flower that has survived by growing from the rock at the top of a mountain peak and he describes the connection he feels to his ancestors when he sees a spruce tree planted by his grandfather in 1900 (there is a lovely scene in the epilogue where he plants a spruce tree to continue his connection with future generations).  This is very slow and meditative but that is the point because, as Jørgen tells us, we need to slow down and really look at nature in order to learn the lessons it has to teach us.  I highly recommend this beautiful documentary!