“Hang on. It all changes…” – Richard Gere, words that reached me at just the right time in midlife…
I want to make sure the rest of you have heard about this not-well-publicized 2021 feature film. It was the directorial debut of actress Robin Wright (from House of Cards), who also stars in it with my new favorite actor, Demian Bichir (as Miguel).
“Land” tells the story of a midlife woman named Edee who experiences the worst most of us can imagine, and loses her way entirely. The one thing she knows for certain is that she does not want to be around others now. She resolves to live in solitude while she attempts to find a reason to go on. She takes off for an abandoned cabin in the Wyoming wilderness completely off-the-grid without a car, running water, heat or electricity. With no survival or outdoor skills, Edee nearly dies from exposure, before a hunter (Miguel) and a traveling nurse happen by at the last minute to save her life.
The best part of the film is the relationship that develops ever so carefully and slowly between Edee and Miguel. Neither one trusts others, but they also have learned the need to trust to survive. I love the dialogue between them. It is so simple, honest and authentic. Edee learns the necessary skills to maintain her lifestyle in the wild and stays there until the surprising ending. I will not spoil it for you.
As many of you may know, I am a trained psychotherapist who has researched and written extensively on the topics of love, trust, midlife redemption and rebirth. I also spent a year in solitude after I lost my marriage, my job and career at age 49. At that time I saw no reason to go on. Today I feel badly that too many of us may end our lives in midlife, because we cannot find a reason to go on. This film does not oversimplify the process of crisis, grief, and rebirth, but it can convince us that we may transition from a full breakdown to breakthroughs into new ways of experiencing ourselves and our lives.
If we give ourselves the time to heal, forgive our past and move on, new desires and parts of ourselves can be discovered & enjoyed!
Adventures of the NEW Old Farts 