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First, the Recap:
History. Specifically, our history as individuals. It comes with both surprises and pre-conceived expectations, along with the notion that, as with all things, the elements that make us up and the world we inhabit change constantly. Yet, for everything that does so, we still struggle to truly understand who we are, and the means by which we seek to find out may or may not even bring the–closure–to the questions we have and desire to find comfort in. It seems to cause MORE questions, and leaves us in a state of really wondering if we’ll ever be able to decidedly define our lineages.
Next, my Mind:
A definitively fun and highly entertaining view of what it is to try and know ourselves, our heritage, and what our future legacy may (or may not) be, this eight minute twenty-five second short from director Michael Windle that screened as part of the 2020 Berlin Revolution Film Festival carries itself with a quirky, pseudo-documentary/biographical air while adding its humorous elements at the expense of things both natural and manufactured, hereditary and man-made, innate and (laughably possibly) contrived. But, when it all comes down to it, it’s about our roots.
Unconventionally illustrated at first through painting a portrait of the impact nature can make on the landscape of our physical world via highlighting a particulary violent storm that landed in Scotland, the effort then shifts to literal narration about trees both native and from the outside that then transitions very cleverly into concepts of family trees and Windle tracing his own lines though specific moments of recollection that have an influence from a personal as well as nationalistic view, highlighting about familial migration as an additional picture of the resiliency we have as human beings, just like in nature and history itself.
What I felt was so engaging about the effort was the underlying–satirical(?)–approach to the humor that interjected itself with a very plausible regularity, introducing an almost playful aspect to all the varying thematic facets that the narration was conveying, perhaps mainly about the whole concept of the ever-popular DNA Tests and a healthy (again in fun still, I felt) skepticism about the results gained from doing it. There’s a wonderful quip about “science vs. art” that had me chuckling in the truth it presents, and other random points of hilarity emerge that really gives the film a fresh, honest, grounded perspective to offset the also serious ponderings it elicits.
There is some stunningly gorgeous cinematography of the Scottish countryside present and having visited the country myself back in 2017, I could not help but be once again enraptured by it while actually considering my own heritage, which while primarily Baltic (talk about shock!), contained some British Isles-based percentages as well, which made me happy. Again, it’s this fascination yet frustration and, dare I say at TIMES, absurd obsession with tracing our lineages that really comes out in Windle’s effort, not to dissuade or discourage seeking it, but perhaps to maintain a realistic perspective on it, taking what’s absolute fact as such and perhaps other things not so much.
Therefore, in total, “The Quiet Hill” stands firm as a well-executed, appealing, delightful look both whimsical and stirring when it comes to the impact of circumstances on nature, our own sense of identity, and history’s hand on our familial heritage. May we find the answers we’re looking for, be able to laugh at the parts of it that warrant such, take the world around us seriously (but maybe not OVERLY seriously), and simply enjoy this eccentric wonder that is being human. And it never hurts to hear Matt McGinn singing “Pekinese Dog” wafting through the background!
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
