source: A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness

This film is daunting and made me feel like a complete Philistine. Some of it was a beautiful and unnerving, the hermit or the little blond girl running around in a cardi. The commune part just felt comfortable, some of the hermit part too,since I used to live a similar life in parts of those two,funnily enough my former life also involved the metal part as well. So in a way the movie, for me was personal and completely freaked me out. I found it invasive and thought, how did you know what i was doing when I was young. I have often wondered myself lately, maybe I should have stayed doing as i was considering the artificial nature of existence in the city. Was I having way more fun living in the country roaming around with a massive bearded Latvian dude oft times partaking in small live music concerts but generally just raising metal hell together in a remote shack with massive amps. I think the answer to the question in the film is SH*T HAPPENED. the answer to the second question posed by the film would be sh*t will continue to happen because it has happened in the past and keen observers of history will gleefully point out that humans have a bad habit of repeating stupid mistakes. I think this is in part because of lack of decent historical education but probably in full because of human nature and the time constrictions of the human life span. Now can the filmmakers please tell me what the film was about, because if the synopsis is correct and it was about spirituality, then wtf there is no such thing. That is a lesson hard learned. Find more incoherent rambling at filmstvandlife.wordpress.com

I'm 22 minutes in and ready to fall asleep. The first six and a half minutes of this movie are simply a camera panning back and forth over a lake as it gets darker and darker. Right there, I knew that there was going to be a lot of padding and not much substance. Then we are taken into a commune and I'm still trying to figure out where this is. Is it New Mexico? I see a Zia tattoo on one of the hippie's wrists. Or is it cultural appropriation? There are definite Scandinavian accents going on with a good number of the commune members, but a ton of American accents in there as well. It doesn't look like New Mexico. The trees are all wrong. All I know at this point is a few of them are building a very small geodesic dome. 50 minutes in and I have gathered they are somewhere in Finland. Also, more filler as we are treated to nearly a full five minutes of a static camera shot of a guy fishing in the rain. 65 minutes in. We have seen the guy who was fishing explore a cave, gather wild mushrooms or something, paint his face and stare into space. Then it jumps to some still life nature stuff and a shed on fire. Why is the shed on fire? If it was set on fire by the commune denizens, why wasn't that wood repurposed? Did lightning hit it? It seems to storm a lot where they are. I've made it this far, I might as well finish watching. Oh, I see. His face is painted because he's in a black metal band. But instead of letting us hear his band while they're on stage, we get some soprano who sounds like a bad imitation of Tarja Turunen as the soundtrack instead. Why? OK, we are finally hearing the black metal band. I think it's still the band he was on stage with. The cameraman seems far too interested in the other three guys, but especially the bass player and drummer. Yeah, they finally showed him. It's the same band. The last half hour of this with his band playing in some club is the most interesting part of the movie. Oh, look. The credits. I see this was filmed in Finland, Estonia and Norway. I saw no paganism in this. I didn't see a black metal festival, just the one guy's band playing in some small Oslo club. I also didn't see any hermits, unless this is implying that it was a commune of hermits. I also didn't see the Northern Lights. Perhaps I need to brighten up my screen a bit. This has the feel of a movie that is meant to just be projected onto the walls at parties. It has no substance or even purpose. The directors wrote the description for this site, so I will take their word that at least one of the commune members was a pagan. I would have been far more interested in learning more about the commune. How did it come to be? How did these people from all over the world find out about it and come to be there? How do they all support themselves? I still want to know what the deal was with the burning shed. Or was it a tiny deserted church? (Going with the black metal angle there.)

There is a lot I can say is good, even great, about this odd arthouse film. The cinematography is often beautiful, the slower pace makes way for a few genuinely hypnotizing sequences, and, if you don't mind Black Metal, the music is really good. However, there were some setbacks...the main one probably being that I felt the film went on a bit too long. The entire first third of the movie honestly shouldn't be here, it really belongs to another project entirely, and that's not always a problem with me, but I don't find the first third to be all that interesting anyway. There are some fascinating moments here and there, but if only the final 2/3rds made up the entirety of the film, there's no doubt my rating would be higher. The second third follows a hermit as he pretty much goes through his daily life. Not much at all happens, it's extremely slow, but the entire ambient feel of it is beautiful, calming, and visually interesting. Eventually, the hermit goes under a transformation and goes off to perform in a Black Metal band, leading to the film's finale being one half hour long shot of a concert. It's enjoyable to some extent, but it does get mildly dull at some point in its midst; however, by the end of the shot, things start picking up speed and, in the end, the film is mostly effective.

First of all, let's get one thing clear: this movie is not about Scandinavian Doom Metal as the previous reviewer puts it. Hell, even I'm not sure exactly what this film is exactly about - but what I know - the last half an hour consists of pretty decent Shoegazing kind of Raw Black Metal. Not the satanic stuff, mind you. Yes, there are healthy dosage of different themes explored in Black Metal, besides the traditional anti-religious stuff. So, that being said, the only giveaway of this later section of this enjoyable film is the title font and the end of the movie itself. Other than that the movie hides it's Black Metal and portrays a mellow lifestyle that's somewhat slow, somewhat woody and somewhat butt-plugged. Yeah. Somewhat even Hippy. And yes, here they are - terms "Hippy" and "Black Metal" put together in one review, in a complimentary sense. This movie will be shown at an open-air cinema festival in Latvia. And I'm wondering - how many clueless people will soil their pants at the end of the movie? How many people will just walk away from the las 45-or so minutes of the film? How many people will feel that they bought tickets for the wrong film? And how many people will just head-bang the living crap out of their necks, when the tremolo picking and blast-beats kick in? A fun pieces of thought to entertain. Overall - this is a different kind of documentary that deals with themes common in Black Metal (except the lively Hippy stuff). It's very slow, deliberate and in times - funny as the concept of Hell itself. It depicts various things. It depicts a group of people living in a friendly and philosophical community. It depicts some gorgeous forest scenes in those slow and moody scenes. And it depicts a man that lives in this community, that enjoys the woods somewhat more that the average person does, and this man happens to play in a Black Metal band. You can't go wrong with this combo! An interesting combination of elements, and therefore an interesting film to watch. 7/10 easily.

Usually I make a point of staying until the end of films at the cinema or at a festival...once I stayed until the end of a Bruce LaBruce movie after 2/3 of the audience walked out...but I couldn't make it through this, even though one of the directors was sitting right behind me. The first 45 minutes has it's moments, though the fly-on-the-wall style isn't conducive to much insight....there really should have been someone with more awareness than a fly to edit it...there are nice scenes among a hippie commune in Finland though. The last half hour of what I saw was basically concert footage of a doom metal gig...if you're one of the few people who gets this music you might enjoy it, to me; it was like having a migraine. Really sorry I can't be more positive...any movie that encourages communal living and a more basic lifestyle should be encouraged, but the endless doom metal just ruined it for me.

Oh lord I can't believe I paid money to rent this film. It was an absolute chore to finish, even watching the third portion in 2x speed. Is there anything these pretentious arty filmmakers couldn't film and then write some kind of blathering "profound" nonsense about? This is the laziest kind of filmmaking. Anybody finding meaning or depth in this film is trying way too hard and doing all of the work on their own. I'll admit it - I just don't get it! I was totally bored for most of the film. Frustrating and awful.

Mysterious; Dark; Beautiful; Mysterious; Sombre; Mystical; Magic; Realms; Twirling, in the Night; Pulchritudinous; Clouds The world seeps into a dark somber; a dark cyclone into absolute trinity; tranquility spins... The first moments of nature.. Reflections Water The first scenes..transportive; and carry it into realms Enter Utopia Ash tipped Clouds; Fire..Primal Light & Darkness dance in the sombre Meandering conversations pursue, profound; why follow paths? We can follow paths to a certain goal, but ultimately it is impossible; why restrict ourselves with rigid paths; predictability. It is not true The young, old; old nature, old life; young life, old life Blood red clouds; primal passion The bodies, embrace in Nature Time is taken here..not rushed.. it is slow; dreamy. Time is taken truly here; it is slowed down; all is calm. As Malick has said, people are rushed to talk in the modern age, and must speak quickly; here, time is in the essence, or merely does not exist. The paradox; paragon; infinity; center The persona; discusses the trance of the rave, entering the zone, in sync with the earth, and others; immorph into one; metaphysical Enter Shangri-La Sunlight, smoke; the decimation of time.. Ancient Poets; ancient powers Utopia The time moves slowly..so slow.. A boat; a silhouette on the distant sunrise/sunset; cloud, the sun bleaches clouds.. Distant Distant light against the water... Animal kingdom Modernism & Nature Memories of livelihood The mosaics spin into one... Eyes; three beads of light Tarkovsky..Fire..House Fire Fire Triangle Fire Tribal Screams in the dark The meditative finale..ancient, soul touching... Chants.. sighs..release; freedom; radical Power Magic Energy Wildness; release...let go The pure unmarked naked fury Passion Breath-taking Our masks, eventually fall away Lights Intense Emotion Like a a subconscious wave; an abstract whole rhythm; heavenly, enigma Enter the sync, the trance All heart, soul; electric The insanity Special.. The scene; life changing In that moment, all are connected to life Nothing mattered; primal; life unleashed Man, Beast? Truthful It has rendered my barriers naked Transporting; enlightening Into the vortex It fills my soul.. A spell, to ward off the darkness Like nothing before.. Like nothing else..

source: A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness

I'm 22 minutes in and ready to fall asleep. The first six and a half minutes of this movie are simply a camera panning back and forth over a lake as it gets darker and darker. Right there, I knew that there was going to be a lot of padding and not much substance. Then we are taken into a commune and I'm still trying to figure out where this is. Is it New Mexico? I see a Zia tattoo on one of the hippie's wrists. Or is it cultural appropriation? There are definite Scandinavian accents going on with a good number of the commune members, but a ton of American accents in there as well. It doesn't look like New Mexico. The trees are all wrong. All I know at this point is a few of them are building a very small geodesic dome. 50 minutes in and I have gathered they are somewhere in Finland. Also, more filler as we are treated to nearly a full five minutes of a static camera shot of a guy fishing in the rain. 65 minutes in. We have seen the guy who was fishing explore a cave, gather wild mushrooms or something, paint his face and stare into space. Then it jumps to some still life nature stuff and a shed on fire. Why is the shed on fire? If it was set on fire by the commune denizens, why wasn't that wood repurposed? Did lightning hit it? It seems to storm a lot where they are. I've made it this far, I might as well finish watching. Oh, I see. His face is painted because he's in a black metal band. But instead of letting us hear his band while they're on stage, we get some soprano who sounds like a bad imitation of Tarja Turunen as the soundtrack instead. Why? OK, we are finally hearing the black metal band. I think it's still the band he was on stage with. The cameraman seems far too interested in the other three guys, but especially the bass player and drummer. Yeah, they finally showed him. It's the same band. The last half hour of this with his band playing in some club is the most interesting part of the movie. Oh, look. The credits. I see this was filmed in Finland, Estonia and Norway. I saw no paganism in this. I didn't see a black metal festival, just the one guy's band playing in some small Oslo club. I also didn't see any hermits, unless this is implying that it was a commune of hermits. I also didn't see the Northern Lights. Perhaps I need to brighten up my screen a bit. This has the feel of a movie that is meant to just be projected onto the walls at parties. It has no substance or even purpose. The directors wrote the description for this site, so I will take their word that at least one of the commune members was a pagan. I would have been far more interested in learning more about the commune. How did it come to be? How did these people from all over the world find out about it and come to be there? How do they all support themselves? I still want to know what the deal was with the burning shed. Or was it a tiny deserted church? (Going with the black metal angle there.)