Honeyland

Hatidze Muratova collects honey from local bees in rural North Macedonia. She's alone caring for her elderly mother. Times are getting tougher. A Turkish family moves in next door with their cattle. Then they start raising their own bees and conflict follows.

This is a documentary of a woman and her bees. At first, I figured that it'd be a simple movie of beautiful poverty and living with nature. I did not expect the devastating neighbor drama and the tragic perseverance with her mother. I'm almost certain that some of the conversations have been recreated. In fact, the story is so great that I wonder if it has been manufactured. The chainsaw scene is just devastating. That whole conflict is so small and so important. This is a personal epic.

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.

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.

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.

"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.