User reviews

The relatively modern tools Hussein uses to weigh honey only help to cement the film's clear microcosm of the tension between sustainability and industrialization; between restraint and a catastrophic lack of foresight. In that sense, watching "Honeyland" is like looking at the greatest problems of our time through a pinhole, but the film sees the situation with a clarity that gets under your skin and breaks your heart. Far from a scolding, rub-your-nose-in-it depiction of environmental havoc, this is a tender story about the chaos of abandoning the common good. By reflecting Muratova's relationship with her hives against the social contract that she's formed with her mother - and that binds Hussein to his family - Kotevska and Stefanov shine a light on what the bees have always told us: They survive by serving each other. And if they ever disappeared completely, people would only have themselves to blame.

Fighting with your neighbors. Struggling to care for your aging parent. Plying your craft and trade in the compassionless barreling economy of scale, so different from, and destructive to, the natural economies of being human. It is the same here, there, and everywhere. When there is no social contract their is imbalance and suffering, when the natural order is defended, there is simplicity and sustainability. One of my favorites of the year. Cinema is many things, but at its most beautiful it is an empathy engine.

In a microcosm you get to see what humans are doing wrong. The amount of time the filmmakers have spent with the subject of the film, shows in the level of intimacy that the camera has acquired in their lives. As if it's a pair of eyes. And not a camera. Making this a thoroughly engaging film.

"One half for me, one half for you."

3 years. 400+ hours of footage. My 2nd viewing. Yet I am still at a loss for words at how a film like this is even possible.

It somehow manages to present a grounded narrative, a parable of rural life, and a kind environmental message, all quietly captured through observational lens and intimate scope. You will witness everything from a cow giving birth to the near-drowning of a child (which, while brief, is very difficult to watch). The editing and fly-on-the-wall filmmaking style is superb.

Do not miss.

This documentary definitely regained my hope for Macedonian cinema. I just don't know where to start but i'm going to start my review with the protagonists. For me, Atije is symbol of strength and persistence. She is something this world needs badly. She proves that even in the hardest times, people need to be aware of doing the right thing, no matter how bad life gets. Also, we are all connected in this world, humans, nature, flora and fauna. That's why she always puts nature first. In order to take, you must give. But greed gets the best of us. That's what this documentary proves. Sincere, caring and self-less are the words to describe Atije.

While i was watching the documentary, i thought of how every moment was captured at the right time. Even they hired the best actors and actresses in the world, it wouldn't have been nearly as good as this documentary.

Local people with a troubled story reflects on a global ecological problem. - That's how i would describe this piece of art.

If you want a true wake up call that will get even to the hardest of hearts, go with this one.

This movie focuses on the tiny things that can make the life beautiful. Hatidze owns close to nothing, doesn't have own family but still manages to enjoy life.

What is the reason for Hatidze to continue living? Do we humans need to have a goal that drives us throug our everyday and what when we fail achieving it?

Those are the two questions that haunt me after watching this masterpiece.

Ljubo Stefanov and Tarmara Kotevska's HONEYLAND, an entrancing triple Sundance award winner is a stunning verite documentary. It plays so intimately, and with such verisimilitude that it feels almost like a narrative film. Our 'lead actress' is Hatidze, a lonely bee farmer of Turkish descent in the remote hills of Macedonia. She occasionally ventures into the larger town below to sell her high quality pure honey -- and to pick up a few provisions. Her only other companion is her frail mother Natife, who she cares for in their ramshackle hut. The scenes between them are so tender and detailed that it becomes almost unbearably palpable at times, whether it's the daughter gently tending to her blind eye, talking about marrying off the mid-50s woman, or sharing a meager meal of a single banana. Their isolated like is loudly broken up by the arrival of a large itinerant family who comes with and even larger assembly of livestock. At first, Hatidze and the families head, Hussein, try and get along. The numerous children provide some comfort and companionship to the beekeeper. Finding out how much money Hatidze gets for her premium nectar, Hussein latches onto the idea of harvesting bees himself. Inevitably, tension and hardship follow.

What is most remarkable about HONEYLAND is that even though it functions as almost a narrative drama, none of it feels forced or constructed. The camerawork is particularly effective as the two cinematographers Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma bring us right into the scene whether it be spotting a single bee buzzing on a dripping honeycomb, Hatidze fingers gently touching her mother's face or the birth of a cow, the viewer is there. There aren't any fancy cuts or montages. The music is sparse, if noticeable at all, save for some scratchy source music that plays on an old radio attached to a homemade antenna trying to barely capture some signal from the world below.

HONEYLAND depicts a couple of significant events in Hatidze's life, but they aren't overly emphasized. They just play out, like simple steps in a life. The Documentary ends without triumph or tragedy - but, just a quite moment of solitude. Neither Hatidze, nor the viewer, knows what her fate may be, but, we do believe, she'll persevere.

An extraordinary movie, which is representing every single aspect of our everyday lives. So touching, so pure, also sad, but on the other hand so real, that makes you think deeply about your existence. I wasn't the only one who didn't want to leave the cinema last night.

Perfect !!

This movie is as neo-Realist as LA TERRA TREMA, with nonprofessional actors in a very rural setting. But it speaks brilliantly, in a very understated way, to entrepreneurship, women's rights, and globalization

This is a movie not about the bees, not about the honey, not even about the main character, but about life itself. I was crying the whole time. Really touched my mind and my soul. Bravo Ljube👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Honeyland isn't really a joyful documentary but it's very well made. No interviews at all, just raw footage from how Hatidze Muratova, a Macedonian beekeepster, lives with her mother in a shed you wouldn't put your dog in. The images are of high quality, sad and stunning at the same time, and make you think about how good we have it compared to some other people. The harsh life Hatidze Muratova has, of solitude and poverty, it's just not a happy story but it's poignant to watch. The Sam family are the typical poor people I don't understand. Like father Sam said at one point, "one year, one kid" was the saddest thing I heard in awhile. Why would you create so many kids when you can't manage to live decently yourself, why putting so many kids through this kind of mysery? It's a worldwide problem, not enough education and contraception, ridiculous beliefs that all lead to this kind of self-destructing behavior. That said, that's just my opinion and it doesn't really matter what I think. The documentary isn't really about bees like I thought it would be, it's about loneliness, desperation, injustice and hope. Unbelievable people in our era still have to live like this, where a broken antique radio is the best entertainment they can hope for. Honeyland is certainly worth watching, maybe some people will stop whining about stupid futile things after seeing in what real mysery other people live and that not for a couple hours but a lifetime long.

It takes time to soak in a humbling and an unforgettable documentary.

It gives a simple message: 'The relationship between humanity and the world in which we live must be handled with care'.

The best part is your realisation that you are watching a documentary in Macedonia. Every moment that was captured was captured at the right time. Even if they would've hired the best actors and actresses from any industry they would've still not been able to construct a perfect documentary as this is.

#HatidzeMuratova has responded so beautifully to directors #TamaraKotevska and #LjubomirStefanov.

Their simple message of 'Bees shall sting you, if you try and overpower them' narrates bigger understanding of life (plants, animals and various living beings) that all viewers go through.

A WONDERFUL MUST WATCH.

Such a documentary,I cried all day long. That movie made me understand myself, my lost culture, overwhelming capitalism changing the good naive people to a invaders of life, of nature. My childhood had a similar old Ottoman village, close relations transformed to greedy crowd of families ambitious of ruining everything. Hatice, the hero carries all the qualifications I still carry, and the the heros, heroins are such familiar portraits around me. Globally expressed but it privately haunted me. Thank you for making such an extraordinary movie for such an estranged world. I hope you win an Oscar, the best movie of the year.

Honeyland (2019) was directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov. It's an extraordinary Macedonian film considered to be a documentary.

Hatidze Muratova portrays herself, as does Nazife Muratova, her mother. Hatidze is a beekeeper in a seemingly remote area in Macedonia. Actually, it's relatively close to the capitol city of Skopje. However, the terrain is truly wild. We don't see any evidence of advanced technology except for jet vapor trails high overhead.

Hatidze is a successful beekeeper. Her success is possible because she is carefully attuned to the bees and their life cycle. Her rule is "one-half of the honey for the bees, one-half for us."

All is going well until the arrival of Hussein Sam and his wife Ljutvie Sam. They are the parents of a large, sprawling family. Their livelihood comes from raising cattle, but Hussain soon realizes that he can make additional money by raising bees. However, he's greedy, and matters start to take a wrong turn.

The reason I wrote that the film is "considered to be a documentary" is because it's hard to believe that the Sam family would arrive on cue to give the story its basic plot. Hussain isn't a villain, but he's certainly not a hero. Why would he allow himself and his family to be portrayed in such a negative way? They're a real family, but I assume that this part of the movie was scripted to fit in with the basic theme.

The theme is, clearly, living in harmony with nature vs. pushing nature out of harmony. (We discussed this with friends after the screening, and they brought this up first. Also, other IMDb reviewers have mentioned it. I think most viewers would agree.)

We saw this film in Rochester's great Little Theatre. **If you have the opportunity to see this movie on the large screen, don't pass it up.** That's because the images are so strikingly beautiful that a small screen won't do full justice to them.

I don't usually cite cinematographers, but here is a situation where they deserve to be recognized: Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma.

Honeyland has an extremely high IMDb rating of 8.1. Even if you can't see it in a theater, it's still definitely worth seeing. Don't miss it.

"Honeyland" has such a strong dramatic narrative that you wouldn't necessarily know it was a documentary rather than a scripted fictional film.

It tells the story of a woman eking out an existence in the mountains of North Macedonia while caring for her ailing mother. Her life is extremely hard and void of any of the conveniences most of us take for granted -- you know, such minor things like electricity and plumbing -- but she's developed a rhythm that works for her, one that relies very much on a symbiotic relationship with the natural world. She raises bees, and takes the honey she harvests from them into the nearest city to sell at marketplaces. Then enter this absolutely horrid neighbor family who come bumbling into her neighborhood and makes a mess of everything. They're after a quick buck without knowing how to do anything the right way, so they kill all of her bees, nearly ruin the bees' natural habitat, lose a whole bunch of their cows to a disease, all while shouting and bickering and making jackasses of themselves in front of a film crew.

The dynamic between these neighbors captures the dynamic of the world in microcosm. There are those who understand that humans and nature can co-exist, indeed must co-exist if humans are to survive, and those who just want to shortsightedly rape the earth for what they can get from it right now. It's a quietly devastating documentary.

"Honeyland" is the only film in Oscar history to be nominated for both Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature.

EDIT: At the time I wrote the above statement it was true. But since then "Collective" has gone on to do the same.

Grade: A.

In a remote area of Macedonia, population 2, a woman taking care of her elderly mother, living in squalid conditions, barely subsists as a beekeeper. A family of odious gypsies show up, and there goes the neighborhood. The transients are everything that's wrong with humanity; they're a selfish, profanity-spewing brood who torture animals, steal from the woman, and eventually destroy her 'career.' A more appropriate title for this film would have been Homeyland.

This observational documentary tells the tale of a Macedonian beekeeper whose isolated way of life comes under threat from a chaotic family who moves in next door. 'Honeyland (2019)' doesn't feel like a documentary at all; there are no interviews, no narrative interludes and no references to anything behind the camera. It's basically a traditional narrative, except it isn't running off a script of any kind. It's real life, captured and edited to form a surprisingly cohesive story. That story may seem slight, but it's incredibly impactful for its characters; it represents a distinct phase in all of their lives. The film is typically quiet and contemplative, though some of its characters cause quite a bit of noise. It has a slack pacing that suits its story well. That does make for a typically slow experience, but that's not necessarily an issue. The piece feels as though it's exactly what it needs to be; it's enjoyable in its own specific sort of way. I can't say that it's overly compelling or, even, especially exciting, but I can say that it's an interesting and engaging experiment that genuinely blurs the line between documentary and fictional film in a way I've never seen before. 7/10.

This documentary really tugged at my heart until the credits rolled.

I would have given it a perfect 10, but, and without spoiling anything for anyone whom hasn't seen it, I found myself, at times, wanting it to end, because there were several moments that were just so sad and heartbreaking, that the grief it made me feel was so real, I almost couldn't take it.

It's so intimately shot, that you feel like you are right there in this remote world, witnessing moments that are so sweet, and tender and organic.

You really feel like you there and are apart of it.

The way the Beekeeper woman was in tune with nature, and her cherished bees, was so captivating to see.

And she loved her mother so much, whom was badly wounded and ill, with all of her being, taking care of her, day in, day out.

Then the Nomads move in next door, and everything changes, and the balance that the beekeeper has worked & fought so hard to obtain, slowly gets shattered and abolished.

It shows how destructive humans can be when they only care about themselves, and treat everyone, and everything, around them like they are above them and like they own them.

This is nominated for 2 academy awards, and I hope it wins at least one, as it absolutely deserves to do so.

This is a very beautiful film. Thank you so much for making it. A film that celebrates everything about life.

"Honeyland" looks great. I appreciate that the color of the honeycomb subject matter pervades the cinematography, including the many shots of fireplaces flickering a similar shade back upon the figures. The cliff-side views at the beginning and end of the picture are gorgeous, too. I also like that the movie was nominated for two of the best picture Academy Awards (for International Feature and Documentary); I've long thought that should be a more common occurrence. (As far as I'm concerned, they should've nominated "Waltz with Bashir" (2008), an Israeli animated documentary, for all four feature awards, but I digress.) Reportedly, "Honeyland" is supposed to contain an environmental message, and this is where I think the presentation is muddled.

Seemed to me that these inhabitants of North Macedonia--in the rural desert somewhere outside of Skopje--spend all day working, bickering at each other or doing nothing. A bit of fiddling with a radio is the closest thing to culture that they appear to partake in. That's not to say one can't or shouldn't sympathize with their evidently impoverished state of affairs, but it doesn't make for as riveting drama as the filmmakers seemed to think. As for environmental degradation, we're talking about a marginal piece of land in every sense of the word. What these two families do to this small slice of an ecosystem doesn't matter in the grand scale, so the issues here work only as parable, slight though it may be. It's the tragedy of the commons. The new neighbors try to exploit the land for more than a subsistence living, and so bees and cows die. It's nothing more egregious--indeed, likely far less so--than what many a viewer of this movie, including myself, in better economic situations will support in purchasing beef, honey or an array of other goods at grocery stores and supermarkets. I'm not saying "Honeyland" comes across as hypocritical, but what message can be taken away from it seems relatively insignificant. On the other hand, at least the observational approach to the subject negates any direct lecturing, and the landscape, as desolate as it may be, retains some beauty.

The landscapes, as shown in the clips, are sometimes beautiful. The film itself is truly miserable. Nobody walked out of the sneak- preview I attended. At the end there was a stunned silence, except for one woman sobbing inconsolably. As an educational film which shows how awful and hopeless the lives of poor people can be, I could recommend this, but as entertainment I can most definitely not.