......“Far Beyond the Pasturelands” is mostly filmed using handheld camera. It documentes a 22-year-old married women who has a 3-year-old baby. For the sake of their household income, she and her husband both ventured to the snow-covered mountains to pick the caterpillar fungus, a type of mushroom considered to be more valuable than gold.
...The adults in their village packed matches, rice, green vegetables , snacks, iodised salt, alcohol and medicine in plastic bags . They then piled the bags and stove on top of horsebacks , locked their homes and schools,and embarked on the journey with the hope of making some money.
These group of people traditionally make a living by raising horses and chickens , andcorns and wheat are their main crop . However, farming only yields very little money for them .
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Camping in the snow-capped mountains , the picking activities were organised and managed by the Seasonal Management Committee in the Napali year of 2076. It was the harvesting season of yasargumbas , which began with a opening ceremony.
Gambling and drinking are not allowed after 22:00, but the atmosphere is still festive. People play volleyball , watch movies, and enjoy music.
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Crawling on the ground , searching carefully for each piece of land , they bruised their knees to try their luck. It’s a simple story , recording the process of seeking this precious herb. It’s noteworthy that the supply of the mushroom seems to be dwindling . Nevertheless ,the desires and wishes of these people still exist and will be passed down to the next generation .
One aspect that interested me about this film is how the community arranges the picking affairs. In most of the areas where mushrooms picking have become a collective activity, some sort of management institution have always existed , playing vital roles in navigating relationships both within the community and with outside communities .
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To be critical , the almost 80 minutes documentary is mediocre, much like a bottle of snow water . Perhaps the mundane local activities depicted in the film are something strange to the modern city dwellers , even creating a form of cultural shock. Furthermore , the film only focuses on one village , undoubtedly exemplifying the activities of mushroom picking. However, the director intentionally overlooked the entire supply chain and value chain of the caterpillar fungus, resulting in pale content. The girl and the merchant were intended as protagonist but only a cursory glance was given to both of them . Adding some depth , such as following the merchant or the girl to see how they used the money they earned, would have added more spice to the film.
I think the film maker wanted to portray pure and authentic images to in line with the title “Far beyond the pastureland “( where slaughtered animals are also visible). By emphasising the girl’s innocence and minority beauty, making the work more appealing to the western film festival and the judges.
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