A NEW KIND OF WILDERNESS – Review by Liz Whittemore
A life chronicled most intimately and authentically, the Payne family experiences physical and emotional upheaval following a family tragedy. Choosing to raise their family on a secluded Norwegian farm, Maria and Nik wanted nothing more than to instill a love of nature in their children. Potentially forced to sell the beloved farm that holds all their memories, Nik, Freja, Falk, Ulv, and eldest daughter Ronja, navigate unfathomable loss and fight to remain connected.
Through Maria’s striking photography, the family’s home videos, and extraordinarily sensitive voiceover narration assembled over several years, documentary filmmaker Silje Evensmo Jacobsen evokes visceral hope and sadness in A New Kind of Wilderness. Exploring one family’s respect for the land, unique homeschooling, and off-the-grid lifestyle, Nik navigates their financial limitations while battling the societal norms that Maria vowed to avoid.
The children are undeniably self-aware. Their emotional openness is breathtaking. When school thrusts technology upon them for the first time, they take to it like fish to water, much to the chagrin of Nik, but their wild essence never wanes as they long to hold onto their way of life. The film speaks to the resiliency of youth.
Witnessing the pure innocence and wonder of the Payne children pierces your soul. It is easy to dismiss the genuine curiosity of your kids with the swirl of everyday chaos. Viewers have the honor of joining together in an elegant meditation of grief and loneliness. A New Kind of Wilderness reminds us to cherish each moment, the Earth, and one another.
