Honeyland

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.

"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.

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 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.