In their documentary Folktales, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady weave Norse mythology (specifically that of “the three Norns”) and evocative imagery (courtesy of DP Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo) with the modern-day story of northern Norway’s Pasvik Folk High School, a place where kids can take a gap year in the wild as a means of self-discovery. Ewing and Grady focus on students Hege, Romain, and Bjørn Tore. All three are dealing with their own traumas: Hege is lonely, still reeling from the tragic death of her father; Romain is a fearful high school dropout unsure of his ability to survive the camp and the wilderness; finally, Bjørn Tore thinks of himself as strange, awkward, and incapable of making friends.
Ewing and Grady utilize long zoom lenses to capture intimate moments without much interference. The best sequences hold on our main subjects’ faces, capturing the struggle and determination in their young faces. Throughout the film are interlude sequences referencing the Norns and environment surrounding the camp. Some of these scenes work better than others. Overall, there’s probably too much of this––it ultimately distracts from the students themselves.
In one extended section of Folktales, students are sent into the woods for a few nights to camp by themselves, making fire and surviving on their own. One wishes there had been a bit more, but what’s in the film is compelling, aided by a captivating bit of score from composer T. Griffin. Another essential element to the camp is dog-sledding, and nearly every dog here is a star. Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo also does well to place the camera on the sled often, offering a dynamic POV that is exciting, absorbing. There’s one dog in particular, Sautso, who has an especially effective, unexpected arc in the middle of the film.
There are uplifting revelations (“I never have my phone anymore,” Hege happily realizes at one point) and brutal admissions (earlier on, Romain admits that “if you don’t engage that much you don’t get disappointed”). The Alaskan huskies, unsurprisingly, emerge as a crucial aid for most of the students, offering companionship and unwavering understanding in the middle of vicious cold and unrelenting exhaustion.
There is an idea here that there is hope in the mythology. The three “Norns” are supreme beings who tend to the destinies of humans. And while Pasvik Folk High School representing this type of aid feels somewhat lofty, the inspiration is clear and the results appear to be effective. Ewing and Grady’s best decision was selecting their three central student subjects, though there does often seem a lack of larger narrative. Too often do the mythological interstitials, which include quick-cut editing and sound effects, feel like a buffer to the runtime. Still, Folktales captures a crucial moment in the lives of these young adults amidst a very particular setting with stark, unblinking honesty.
Folktakes opens in theaters on Friday, July 25.
The post Folktales Review: An Evocative Portrait of Self-Discovery in Norway first appeared on The Film Stage.
