With the dizzyingly beautiful mountain landscapes of Western Norway’s Oldedalen Valley as a monumental backdrop, documentary maker Margareth Olin’s 84-year-old father is our guide to the place where his family has lived side-by-side with nature for generations. Olin’s goal is to spend time with her father, walking in his footsteps and trying to understand him. It’s an exercise that he tells her will require a full year, making the four seasons a convenient structuring element for the documentary. As they walk, he tells his daughter stories of deadly avalanches, multiple weddings and his 55-year marriage to her mother. Meanwhile, the camera soars over fjords and frozen lakes, tree-lined hills and ancient glaciers. Made for the big screen, the film, like a zen koan, is an experiential meditation that washes over its viewers. It’s a stunningly cinematic work about life, death, nature and simply being present in the world. –Alissa Simon
The Norwegian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.