Drowned Lands Part 1: Ascent
2015 · 5m · USA
Directed by Will Schluter
Genres: drama, experimental
Tones: contemplative, melancholic
Part one of a near-silent five-part series: a young woman arrives at a remote upstate New York cabin and begins the slow physical labor of being alone — splitting wood, hauling gear, climbing toward something she hasn't named yet. The Ascent isn't a hike; it's the choice to be unreachable.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Five minutes of a woman walking into the woods with no dialogue and no exposition — I should hate this on principle, and instead I'm reaching for my coat. The series gambles that silence will carry the story, and Schluter actually has the patience to make the bet.
A wordless five-part grief miniseries shot for two grand begins with the slow physical labor of being unreachable — Schluter's Reichardt-compressed-to-Vimeo gesture. The opening earns its silence.
Five minutes opening a wordless five-part grief miniseries shot for two grand — a young woman arriving at a cabin and choosing to be unreachable. The micro-budget commitment to silence and physical labor as the entire vocabulary is the bet.