Humans should learn to respect Nature Movie Review: "Honeyland"

“Honeyland” is a documentary film set in a mountain village in Macedonia, one of the world’s poorest countries. The director and his team spent three years filming the life of Hatidze Muratova, a Macedonian woman believed to be the last female wild beekeeper in Europe.

The documentary is, for the main part, a factual film which is dramatic, telling about Hatidze’s life encounters while, at the same time, also providing a specific message along with the facts it presents.

The film provokes much thinking about human relationships. A considerable portion of the content is dedicated to the description of Hatidze’s daily routines, extracting and preparing honey for sale and taking care of her mother, who is sightless and bedridden. It is out of both love and necessity that she gives the old woman tender care despite her occasional fits of temper. The old woman also shows concern about Hatidze’s chance of getting married. The scene in which they exchange kisses is particularly touching. It is thus apparent that genuine love is infallible despite the challenges of ill health, poverty and hopelessness about the future.

On the other hand, what happens after the arrival of a nomadic family with their herd of cattle to reside in the neighbourhood shows the fragility of human relationships. Initially, Hatidze is very friendly, sharing ideas about breeding bees with the cattle farmer, going to market in his truck and having fun with his kids. But they end on bad terms with each other once they find themselves faced with a conflict of interest. And quarrels also occur between the cattle owner and his family. They blame one another for the loss of half of the number of cattle through their negligence. And peace is restored only when they move away, people and cattle together.

Of greater importance is the message about the relationship between humans and Nature. In harmony with Nature, human activities can yield fruitful results. Hatidze Muratova is seen extracting honey from the comb with her bare hands. She does not seem disturbed by the flying bees though there seems little protection from them except for what the head netting affords. One thing she specifies repeatedly is that she cuts only half of the honey comb, leaving the other half for the breeding of bees, a practice contributive to honeybee conservation and sustainability.

By contrast, human interferences can have a negative impact on ecosystems. Having learned about the profit Hatidze Muratova makes from the sale of honey in the market, the nomadic family also start breeding bees. But out of their greediness, they extract honey in excessive quantities, ignoring the need for conservation, thus causing damage to ecology and resulting in many deaths in Hatidze’s beehive. The scene showing the bees fiercely stinging the couple and their kids is probably intended to impress the audience with Nature’s vengeance on humans for their selfish invasion.

Added to this, due to their obsession with the honey business, they neglect their cattle, resulting in starvation, sickness and death. This is obviously another indication of the calamity humans are inflicted with as a punishment for their greed and selfishness. Furthermore, the incident about the bushes set on fire accidentally is another warning against lack of attention to environmental care. Luckily, the flames are put under control, suggesting that Hatidze and the others have finally learned the lesson.

In addition, the film is an example of direct cinema with a genre characterized by its creative treatment of actuality. Details of what is actually happening are filmed surreptitiously and are presented as they are. There are quite a number of single-shot moments captured on film: the journey by train to the market, bees stinging a crying baby, kids swinging on a tree, a boy helping a cow give birth, all emotionally engaging despite its being a non-fiction film.

Moreover, the film is also given credit for its creative visuals that reinforce storytelling. The audience is inevitably impressed by the landscape beauty of the mountain village and the gorgeous sunrise and sunset filmed with wide shot angles. Besides, precise lighting is used as an indicator of nonverbal mood and emotion in various scenes. For example, where Hatidze is taking care of her old mother, showing her worries about the latter’s gradually ebbing life, the only source of light is a candle, adding much to the scene of destitution and misery.

However, while the director is intent on delivering a positive message about environmental conservation, some doubt has been raised about the sincerity of his direct cinema approach. Could he have warned the people involved about the foreseeable problems instead of just remaining an outsider, allowing things to happen so that he could enjoy filming to his heart’s content?

In any case, I find the film very inspiring and would recommend it enthusiastically.