Songs of Earth

Directed by Margreth Olin, Songs of Earth follows the filmmaker as she explores the lives of her elderly parents and the awe-inspiring environment in which they reside. It’s clear, ultimately, that Songs of Earth primarily comes off as a fairly standard nature documentary, as Olin devotes the bulk of the picture’s 90 minutes to admittedly gorgeous footage of Norway’s mountains, glaciers, and fjords – with the strength of Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo, Herman Lersveen, Torbjørn Martinsen, and Dag Asle Mykløen’s often breathtaking cinematography certainly elevating the power and impact of such sequences. There’s little doubt, however, that the movie is at its best when focused on Olin’s parents and their compelling dynamic together, as Olin elicits memorable, heartbreaking comments from the pair about their advancing age and inevitable separation. (Her father, for example, notes that “the outside may be fading but we are still healthy on the inside”.) And while one can’t help but wish Olin had made a more traditional documentary focused solely on the lives of her mom and dad, Songs of Earth nevertheless comes off as a stirring piece of work that deserves (nay demands) to be seen on as big a screen as possible.

**1/2 out of ****