NORTHLANDS

The small village Répáshuta lies deep in the North of Hungary. The landscape is dominated by thick, splendid woods with narrow paths running through them. The region appears mystical, time seems to stand still. But as idyllic as the pure nature might look, the arduous daily life of the village inhabitants is very real nevertheless. The film portrays a group of woodcutters and coalmen. They meet every day before sunrise to go into the woods with their horses and their heavy tools. In long, quiet takes, the camera observes them while they work. From cutting down trees to chopping up the logs to building the charcoal pile, every work-step is captured. The men carry out their work in a rhythm of their own, without haste but with a lot of thoroughness – even a small mistake while lighting the charcoal pile can mean that it has to be rebuilt from scratch. Although there might be the odd argument during the exhausting work, the woodcutters stick together nevertheless. And after work they always find the time for a glass together. Normally, these aren’t men of great words, but in moments like these they tell anecdotes from their lives, joke, and laugh. Until it is time to go back to work.