Land; Grade: B
Land tells a story of a woman named Edee (Robin Wright) who is battling depression and suicide tendencies, as she no longer wishes to be around people as people bring a lot of heartache to her well being. So Edee moves on to a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, with a great view, and best of all? No people in sight. Edee will now start a new life living amongst the wild, as she'll learn to hunt for food, make a fire, and survive the many hardships living out in the wilderness.
The Cinematography t'was solid, some lovely nature shots indeed. Some of the snow storm shots were hard to get a fair grasp of I will say as a minor flaw. The Score was simple and nice. The cast was solid as a whole. Robin Wright playing Edee had a pretty good performance, as it felt like an accurate portrayal of one going through the motions of loss and depression. Being out in society is never easy, they'll always be many problems whether it be from around the world or your world in your very own home. I can totally relate to Edee wanting to no longer be in this world, life is extremely challenging and sometimes you don't really understand what is the point in your existence?! You can understand the pain Edee is going through as part of her depression comes from recent tragedy in her life, which basically her entire world was destroyed. Edee maybe crazy living out in that cabin not having much experience to survive such conditions, however in order for her to fully heal... You can understand why this was actually the only option she can choose, as human beings have failed her and you know what?! I get it.
I do have a couple flaws with Land. The pacing can be often very slow. Edee's decision to go outside during a hectic storm didn't quite make sense, as I didn't understand what exactly was she trying to do or trying to accomplish in that sequence?! I also didn't like Edee telling the audience a certain character has been gone for too long... We didn't need to be told, we can figure it out ourselves.
Land delivers a simple yet effective experience, followed by a simply told story that can be used as a tool for those struggling with mental health issues. Edee could've gone to therapy or taken medications like everybody else, but truth be told those things don't honestly work all the time, especially medications. In order to fully heal yourself, it's best to let your mind escape your own reality in front of you and give yourself one that's better suited for you, to overcome the thoughts that are dearly troubling you. Typically mastering the art of Patience, Positivity, Peace, and Love can heal everything, as Edee needed to come across the pathway, over coming her troubled thoughts in her head. Sure not everyone could do what Edee did to over come her battles, however people can do something similar by going full MIA and recouping entirely.
One of the main effective points in over coming depression, is finding somebody that genuinely cares about your well being and wants nothing in return. Edee found an unexpected blessing during her time in the cabin, as surely enough she was able to over come the many challenges her mind has faced for quite sometime. Most often when it comes to those dealing with mental health issues, people brush those people off whom express their feelings, as they then tell them therapy or medications will solve all problems, when in all honesty sometimes yes they could help, but that's not the solution. Often times therapy doesn't help because one can feel they don't genuinely care about them at all, they're getting paid to do a service as it doesn't come from the heart, which makes people feel terrible as they don't feel they are cared for, they feel they just care about their money. Say what you want but people don't feel healed by paying someone to help them, helping someone should only come from the heart, as the true payment is doing God's work and genuinely caring about anyone they come across with. Medications sometimes help, however they come with a heavy price of either bad side effects or if ineffective... There comes over dosing, as one keeps on popping pills until they feel “Normal” or “Well” again. Honestly: Telling someone who is dealing with mental health issues to just go on meds, is extremely insulting. It does feel as if someone is stabbing you in the heart, as they rather just ignore you and just tell you go numb on a pill, rather than them actually making an effort to help you out.... I’m stating the harsh truth, this what majority of people do and it’s honestly sickening. The solution to over coming your battles has to be done naturally. You have to like Edee is cut off anything that’s negative, work on yourself and get over your problems head on, as well as having genuine support along the way... That’s all you have to do: Be Genuinely Helpful and Supportive, put in the time and effort.
With the unexpected visitor Edee comes across with, he understands what Edee is going through, gives her a great amount of space, and respects Edee's wishes to how they go on about their time together. I'm actually kind of happy they didn't romanticize Edee and the strangers friendship, it felt much more effective towards the whole hearted message this film was trying to succeed on. I really enjoyed how this film wraps up, though it was saddening however it does complete the character arc of Edee, as it turned out to be a moving emotional happy ending. Impressed with how Land turned out to be: A Moving Emotional Experience.
Overall, Land is a solid film. I recommend checking this one out, I feel people will learn some valuable lessons as well. -Mitch Smietana