Experimental artist Ben Rivers’ feature debut is a beguiling (if patience stretching) journey into solitude, as he observes the wordless wilderness existence of Scottish hermit Jake Williams.
It’s technically a doc, but neither Rivers nor his inscrutable subject is interested in backstory; ‘Jake’ isn’t even named on-screen.
We’re left to gauge his motives from his tranquil outdoors lifestyle; a seven-minute take of him floating on a raft is as eventful as this gets.
With meditative compositions and 16mm photography (developed by hand to create a spectral surrealism), it’s more trance than movie.
