Land (2021) * * *

Directed by:  Robin Wright

Starring:  Robin Wright, Demian Bichir, Sarah Dawn Pledge, Kim Dickens

Edee (Wright) keenly feels unshakable grief stemming from the death of her husband and son in a manner we learn about later.   She is tired of having to deal with life and moves up to a remote cabin in the middle of nowhere.   She has no idea how to live off the land, hunt, build a fire, or repair the dilapidated cabin.   If I didn't know any better, I'd say Edee was slowly trying to commit suicide.   During the brutal winter, the starving Edee nearly freezes to death before being rescued by a kindly passerby named Miguel (Bichir) and a local nurse named Alawa (Pledge).   Edee is brought back from the brink of death, although she wouldn't have minded if she perished, but soon Miguel is teaching her how to hunt, fish, fix things, and actually live.   This friendship is at the heart of Land and its resonance helps sidestep some fundamental plot questions.

Grief is something which will inevitably touch every life at some point.   Edee's seems to be worse than most.   She is unable to cope with her sister Emma (Dickens) who suggests she see a therapist.   When Edee lights out for the mountains and purchases the cabin, she coldly throws her cell phone in the trash as Emma is trying to reach her.   Edee wants no connection to the outside world.   Is she trying to process her emotions?   Or punish herself?    Miguel is not without his own demons and secrets.   They find they need each other, but thankfully that need doesn't lead to a perfunctory romance.   Edee and Miguel find purpose in each other and a reason to keep on living a while longer.

Land looks beautiful even when depicting harsh elements.   Edee is as physically remote as she is emotionally.   Some can live in such conditions.   Edee isn't one of them.   Is she really even trying?  The desolation of Land in all of its forms is not easy to swallow.   I sometimes felt she was paying such an extreme price for her pain that it was difficult to accept.   Thankfully Miguel and Alawa arrive and restore some sanity.   It's a tribute to Wright, the actor and director, that Land inspires us to care enough to hope Edee finds herself happy again.   Bichir provides warmth and humanity at the best possible time and when we learn his full story he inspires plenty of sympathy.   

Wright tackles the sometimes difficult material with confidence as a first-time director.   It has issues, such as whether Emma believed Edee was dead all this time and how cruel Edee was to her for moving away without a word of explanation.   With that being said, Land is a thoughtful effort with themes many probably wouldn't have the courage to touch.