No conversations and no background music; no location descriptions and no small talk. The only clue that can guide us before we dive deeper in Striking Land is the narrative that is displayed in a second at the opening scene.
“It is told that in the past, two wrongdoers came to serve their sentence of taking care of an uninhabited and fallow land. Their sentence was passed from generation to generation and was inherited by the men who worked on it.” (Domingues, 2022)
Throughout the film, we won’t hear a single second of human voice. We are served with the rustling sound of grasshoppers, flying leaves, horses eating bushes, a hoe swinging to the ground, a cricket ensemble, and the plowing machines. We are entering another passage of life; noisy but very natural.
It requires carefulness to interpret this 1-hour, 5-minute, 50-second film. A small amount of dialogue is actually giving a space for the audiences to freely practice what they believe in interpreting scenes. Few narratives that are presented are able to arouse the audience’s critical mind in comprehending the vision of the film.
Living in harmony with nature is the idea that Raul Domingues brings in Striking Land. No modern activity, no industrial factory buzz, and no digital noise at all. Life goes on naturally, normally, and as it were. However, referring to the brief narrative presented at the beginning of the film, it could be that the filmmaker wants to show something else. After all, the people who live in Striking Land are suffering “punishment” that has been passed on to them (somehow). Whether or not they like it, they must maintain and cultivate the vast land that had been given to them without any agreement. They seem to never have power over their life; living half-alive without any freedom. We never know, beyond the standard routine that they are supposed to do, are there any dreams and hope of being able to go out to a completely new life?
We can only speculate and assume without really understanding what the real message is that the filmmaker wants to convey through this Striking Land; Is it a life that upholds simplicity and harmony with nature? Or is it a life that gives no choice to those who have entered into an invisible contract with the history and sins of their ancestors? Or do you have any other views?
Written by Hesty N. Tyas
Edited by Vanis
Film Details:
Striking Land (Terra Que Marca)
Raul Domingues | 42 min | Portugal | Color | 2022 | PG
Kompetisi Dokumenter Panjang Internasional
Showtime:
16 November 2022 | Auditorium IFI-LIP | 19.00
