FILMS about hermits
Here are some films of interest about hermits and eremitism. The films
fall into three basic categories: 1) documentary (non-fiction) films and 2)
creative (feature) films. For convenience, the documentary films are in two
sections, international and North America. The presence of a film here does not constitute an
endorsement or recommendation, though all the films present hermits in a
positive and sympathetic way. The list is chronological from most recent.
DOCUMENTARY - INTERNATIONAL
The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun (Denmark, 2007)
director and cinematographer, Pernille Rose Grønkjær
produced by Sigrid Dyekjær
http://www.themonasterymovie.com
from the website:
The story of Mr. Vig, a well educated 86 year-old bachelor, and Sister
Amvrosija, a Russian nun, who by chance, or destiny, becomes part of his
life. Mr. Jørgen Laursen Vig is owner of a worn down castle situated in
the Danish country side. All his life Mr. Vig has dreamed of turning his
castle into a Russian orthodox monastery.
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Amongst White Clouds (Canada, 2005)
produced by Edward Burger
http://www.amongstclouds.com
from the website:
The lives of zealot students, gaunt ascetics and wise
masters living in isolated hermitages dotting the peaks and valleys of
China’s Zhongnan Mountain range. The Zhongnan Mountains have been home to
recluses since the time of the Yellow Emperor, some five thousand years
ago. Many of China's most realized Buddhist masters attained enlightenment
in this very range!
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Into Great Silence (Germany, 2005)
produced by Philip Groening
http://www.diegrossestille.de/english/
from the website:
The Grande Chartreuse, the mother house of the legendary Carthusian
Order, is based in the French Alps. "Into Great Silence" will be the
first film ever about life inside the Grande Chartreuse. ...
Silence. Repetition. Rhythm. The film is an austere, next to silent
meditation on monastic life in a very pure form. No music except the
chants in the monastery, no interviews, no commentaries, no extra
material.
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CREATIVE
Ostrov (The Island)
(Russia, 2006)
directed by Pavel Lungin
http://www.ostrov-film.ru
from the website:
In northern Russia, on a desert island, Anatoly lives [as a hermit] in a
small Orthodox monastery, working in the boiler room. Fellow monks are
embarrassed by his strange behavior but people come from afar believing
that Anatoly is able to provide wise counsel, to cure sickness, and to
exorcise demons. Anatoly never refuses to help, but he suffers the weight
of conscience from a war-time murder. |
Milarepa (Bhutan, 2006)
produced by Neten Chokling
http://www.milarepafilm.com
from the website:
Milarepa, one of the most widely known Tibetan saints, is also revered
for the verses he composed throughout his life, known as the Hundred
Thousand Songs of Milarepa. His faithful devotion to his teacher,
Marpa, astonishing perseverance, and ultimate attainment made his life
story into a legend, inspiring millions.
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The Man Who Planted Trees (Canada, 1987)
Produced by Frédéric Back
based on the book of the same
title (L'Homme qui plantait des arbres) by Jean Giono.
no official website
The story of a shepherd who repairs the ruined
ecosystem of a secluded valley by single-handedly cultivating a forest
over a thirty year period. Over 35 years, Elzeard Bouffier quietly
cultivated a magnificent forest in a desolate area of southern France.
The tale is told by a young traveler who happens upon the old gentleman
one day, and finds himself returning to rediscover the landscape
several times over the following decades.
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Dersu Uzala (USSR/Japan, 1974)
Directed and screenplay by Akira Kurosawa.
no official website
Set at the turn of the twentieth century, the film tells the story of a
Mongol hermit living alone in the Siberian taiga who is befriended by a
Russian captain surveying the area. The captain and his soldiers take on
Dersu as an invaluable guide. Dersu displays an intimate knowledge of
nature and survival, and the captain comes to recognize rare gifts in the
simple frontiersman. An epic scale yet modest and deliberate in its depth
.
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DOCUMENTARY - NORTH AMERICA
 Willard:
The Hermit of Gully Lake (Canada, 2007)
Produced by Amy Goldberg
http://www.pushbackproductions.com
from the website:
In the 1940’s American-born Willard (Kitchener) MacDonald jumped his troop train heading
to WWII. Fearing authorities he lived as a hermit deep in the northern
wilderness of Nova Scotia, Canada for more than 60 years. This is the true
story of "The Hermit of Gully Lake," a man who lived a life that the rest of
us could never endure. He was a soul in exile and yet you will discover
that he touched the lives of so many, in ways that no one can really
explain.
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The Hermit of Manana (USA, 2006)
Produced by Elisabeth Harris
http://thehermitofmanana.com
from the website:
Ray Eugene Phillips was born in 1892, attended the University
of Maine, fought in World War I, held down a job in New York City in
the bustling 1920s, and then, seemingly on a whim, happily decided to
leave it all behind for a life of solitude on the tiny, isolated island
of Manana, Maine. He spent the rest of his life there, with a herd of
sheep and a gander, a small wooden rowboat, in a shack made out of
materials that washed up onto the shore.
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The Fort Fisher Hermit (USA, 2006)
Produced by Rob Hill
http://www.thefortfisherhermit.com
from the website:
What causes Robert E. Harrill, a 20-year old man, to travel from his lifelong home in the mountains
to the coast of North Carolina and spend the remainder of his life without a house, job, or any other physical means of support, and in the process become
the second largest tourist attraction in North Carolina in the late 1960s?
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Alone in the Wilderness (USA, 2003)
Produced by Bob Swerer Productions
Dick Proenneke (1916-2003) ventured alone into the Alaska wilderness in
the late 1960s, built a log cabin homestead, and remained living
there nearly 40 years. Other Swerer films about Proenneke are Alaska: Silence and Solitude (1998)
and The Frozen North (2006). View a web
video (ca. 9 min.) of Alone in the Wilderness. |
