Drommeland (2019)

Directed by: Joost van der Wiel | 73 minutes | documentary | With: Nils Leidal

The divorced Norwegian sixties Nils Leidal has had it with society. Tired of rules and duties imposed by the government, he decides – after symbolically burning his ID – to start a new life in the Norwegian mountains, far away from civilization and modern life. The documentary ‘Drømmeland’ starts with a telling collection of Facebook photos: initially we see Nils surrounded by family and friends, then the tone and atmosphere changes and the man – now sporting a gray beard – poses with a fish he caught himself.

Nils seems quite self-supporting. He hunts, fishes and gathers his own meal. His only form of contact with another living being is his horse Lettir. Here in nature Nils comes to rest. Time for reading, thinking, enjoying the freedom… In the wooden log cabin, however, his iPhone hangs in front of the window with a self-invented construction of iron wire, because that is where the best reception is. Nils regularly calls or texts his new girlfriend Marit. The link with the outside world has not yet been completely broken. When Nils’ son and grandchildren also visit a little later, we hear that Nils has had more telephone contact with his son since the moment of his retreat to the Norwegian nature than in the previous year.

And that urge for contact continues with Nils. Isolating oneself from society is more difficult than expected. His posts on Facebook are positively received. And it turns out: Nils is just as sensitive to likes and comments as the average social media user. ‘Drømmeland’ is a captivating portrait of someone who, on the one hand, dreams of a solitary life, but on the other hand cannot suppress the desire for social acceptance. Filmmaker Joost van der Wiel came across Nils Leidal just at the moment after he himself had lived in seclusion for a few weeks and concluded that this was not for him.

It’s a shame you don’t get some more background information. How did Nils come to this drastic decision? What were his expectations at the start of this experiment? You can also ask yourself whether you can really speak of real loneliness, because ‘Drømmeland’ was not recorded with a standalone camera. There must have been a lot of people around the hut for a long time to get this on camera. To what extent is Nils’ isolation still authentic? Despite these minor criticisms, ‘Drømmeland’ offers plenty of food for thought about our view of human contacts and the return-to-nature wish of many. Balance is the magic word.