Sundance Film Festival: 'Land' is a gorgeous exploration of friendship and healing

Land
4 out of 5 Stars
Director: Robin Wright
Writers: Jesse Chatham, Erin Dignam
Starring: Robin Wright, Kim Dickens, Demián Bichir
Genre: Drama
Rated: PG-13 for thematic content, brief strong language, and partial nudity

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — In the wake of personal trauma, Edee Mathis (Robin Wright) abandons her life in the city for a remote Wyoming cabin without electricity. She’s woefully unprepared for the extremities of the new life she’s chosen. She just knows she can’t go on living in a world where she is haunted by what she has lost.

“Land” is a gorgeous slice of cinema. What begins as a story of isolation becomes a journey of friendship and healing. Both Wright and Demián Bichir, who plays Edee’s personal and spiritual guide through the wilderness, are fantastic. It’s an understated film, the kind that lets the actors and the outdoor setting create an atmosphere that is both breathtaking and filled with danger at the same time.

I suspect that 2020 had many of us thinking about what it would be like to simply walk away and disconnect from the stress and sense of hopelessness that has become our daily lives. Though Edee's reasons for needing to find a new simplicity in life are very specific, the need for a reassessment of how we approach life feels universal.