Spirit Lands 2011
Distributed by Janson Media, 88 Semmons Road, Harrington Park, NJ 07640; 201-784-8488
Produced by David Fortney Productions
Directed by David Fortney
DVD, color, 52 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Travel and Tourism
Date Entered: 06/13/2011
Reviewed by Jessica Schomberg, Minnesota State University, Mankato“There’s no there there.” That’s something a friend of mine says when confronted with something that has a lot of style but is empty of substance.
I’ve been to a number of the places featured in this…travelogue?... and it does a good job of capturing the visual wonder of the grand scenes, using a mixture of “motion control, time lapse and low level aerial cinematography” according to the package. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it completely ignores the small scenes and the natural sounds. Part of my experience as a visitor was being awed by the rocks and the sky, but also by the webs of the black widow, the darting of lizards as they run between bushes and rocks, the vision of carrion and song birds as they search for food and the seemingly unending sound of wind. All of that is neglected in favor of the panoramas and a faux-Native soundtrack. Also, the inclusion of decontextualized Native American quotes (some representative of the people who once lived in the featured regions, some not) seems to serve no purpose that I can discern.
That said, I recognize that some people really like pretty, and this film has a lot of pretty. For that reason (and because it’s cheap) I would recommend it to public libraries that collect travel films or films that feature the southwest or California. However, I honestly can’t see any classroom use for this film.