Alone in the Wilderness (2004)
Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin in the wilderness at the base of the Aleutian Peninsula, in what is now Lake Clark National Park. Using color footage he shot himself, Proenneke traces how he came to this remote area, selected a homestead site and built his log cabin completely by himself. The documentary covers his first year in-country, showing his day-to-day activities and the passing of the seasons as he sought to scratch out a living alone in the wilderness.
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A Brilliant Conflict
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
We thought that this was a pretty good movie. We were impressed that he could live 35 years on his own. His craftsmanship was amazing, and he made a lot of very nice things, Like the cabin itself and furniture. He was very resourceful. It was impressive what he was able to do at his age. After his 6 months in bed rest, He was devoted to spending his life improving his physical health. He was a very skilled carpenter. He was a very skilled outdoors man, and knew the terrain and wild life well. He was almost self sufficient in his food too, Hunting and planting a garden to keep himself full. He was a smart man, and knew where the frost lines would be to make a refrigerator to keep his food fresh.
I sat and watched in amazement, seeing a trade that has pretty much vanished in this life time. I wished it had been longer then an hour and could have seen more of his craft at work. I started a cabin about the same size 2 years ago, this motivated me to get working on it again. I learned a lot from watching this and hope to apply it to the one I am building. Then I will possibly make a few sheds out of logs. The filming was great! Very inspiring. I wonder what made him do this, did he have visitors? I know I would have brought along a dog to keep me company at least.Amazing!
Even though the documentary is not slick its pretty cool. Its amazing what one man in his fifties accomplished. The documentary follows him throughout the months from building his cabin to surviving the winters in Alaska. Someone told me about this movie and I was lucky enough to find a torrent and download it.It was really cool to see a normal person accomplish something cool. It just shows you that if you're motivated enough then you can pretty much do anything you set your mind to. One can only imagine what the makers of stonehenge must have gone through, I believe that those people were just as motivated as this man was.
This movie shows the beauty of Alaska and the tenacity and ingenuity of man. It is somewhat simple in its presentation, but this makes it all the more endearing. The narrative is in Dick Proeneke's own words though and show his intelligence and respect for the wilderness. If you see only one documentary in your life, this is the one to see. Once you see it you will want to share it with everyone you know. By the end of the movie you will have a tear in your eye because you both don't want it to end and have been introduced to an amazing man who has since left us. To sum this up, watch it, watch it, watch it. After seeing this movie be sure to go to the library or book store so you can read more about this amazing man. There are 2 or 3 books written about him and are based on his writings.