Films about hermits
Here are films of interest about hermits and eremitism, presented from most recently released to oldest. Trailers or equivalent are embedded when available. The presence of a film here does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation, though all the films present hermits in a positive and sympathetic way.
Documentary films (biographical)
Feature films (fiction)
Films about solitude, silence, simplicity
Documentaries (general) - 14 films
Surviving in the Siberian Wilderness for 70 Years (USA, 2013)
produced by Vice.com as part of its "Far Out" series.
"Meet the Last Lykov," article by John Martin; photography by Peter Sutherland; from the Vice YouTube site: In 1936, a family of Russian Old Believers journeyed deep into Siberia's vast taiga to escape persecution and protect their way of life. The Lykovs eventually settled in the Sayan Mountains, 160 miles from any other sign of civilization. In 1944, Agafia Lykov was born into this wilderness. Today, she is the last surviving Lykov, remaining steadfast in her seclusion.
(Also available at the Vice.com website.)
1. In this episode, the VICE crew travels to the taiga to learn about Agafia's lifestyle and the encroaching influence of the outside world.
2. In part two, we see that despite the fact that Agafia is nearing 70 years old, she works tirelessly day in and day out to keep up her home. She starts her morning with prayers and then tends to her animals, collects firewood, prepares food, and even fends off the occasional bear.
3. Agafia's neighbor Yerofei has lived by the river near her cabins for the past sixteen years. He was part of the second wave of geologists who spent time visiting the Lykovs in the late 1970s, and eventually made the taiga his home after losing his right leg. Agafia has continued to care for him since he moved.
4. The outside world has crept into Agafia's life in a number of ways. Media attention, news and falling rocket debris have altered her perception of herself and the society she remains outside of, but overall Agafia's daily-to-day hasn't changed much. She maintains an almost childlike optimism that's made most evident through the smile she almost always has on her face.
Somewhere
to Disappear (USA, 2011)
directed by Laure Flammarion & Arnaud Uyttenhove;
starring Alec Soth; produced by Mas Films.
website: http://www.somewheretodisappearthefilm.com/
from the webite: Somewhere to Disappear is "a
film about the desire to run away ... photographer Alec Soth traveled
across
America looking for people who've retreated from society. Some live in
mountain cabins, some in caves, others in the desert. Who are these
modern hermits? Why do they want to escape?"
Fr. Lazarus El-Anthony - Monk's Life (US, 2011)
produced by Coptic Youth Channel/Christian Youth Channel
12 episodes; embedded is episode 1
summary:
Fr. Lazarus is an Australian-born Coptic Orthodox monk living as a hermit
in a cave near St. Anthony's Monastery in Egypt for nearly two decades
. See also The Last Anchorite (below)
Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer (US, 2011)
directed by Norris Chumley; narrated by Norris Chumley and
John
McGuckin; produced by Passion River
websites: http://jesusprayermovie.com;
http://http://mysteriesofthejesusprayer.com
from the webite: [D]esert hermits, monks and nuns
reveal the simple prayer, bringing us into their private cells, caves
and sanctuaries in the Middle East, Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and
Russia."
Archimandrite (Poland/Belarus, 2010)
produced by BelSat TV (Belarus) in association with Telewizja
Polska
S.A. (Polish Public Television) TV; this embed Polish with English
subtitles.
description:
Archimandrite Gabriel, an Orthodox monk from the Podlasie province,
Poland, is the founder and sole inhabitant of the Kudak grove hermitage
by the river Narew. During his first few years there, he lived and
prayed in a wagon house, without electricity, running water, or contact
with the outside world. After five years, thanks to the help of people
of Orthodox faith from local villages, the grove saw the rise of a
wooden church, a dormitory for monks, and outbuildings. He has become a
spiritual advisor, and reflects on who will succeed him given the
transient stay of monks.
Cold Mountain: Han Shan (US, 2010)
directed by Mike Hazard and Deb Wallwork; produced by The
Center for
International Education
website: http://thecie.org/coldmountain/
from the webite: Cold Mountain is "a film
portrait of the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet [and hermit] Han Shan, a.k.a.
Cold
Mountain. Recorded on location in China, America and Japan, Burton
Watson, Red Pine [Bill Porter], Jim Lenfestey and the legendary Gary
Snyder describe the poet's life and recite poems."
Lost in the Taiga (Russia, 2008)
embedded from RuTube; 3 part YouTube version: 1, 2, 3. Russian, no subtitles.
Inspired by the book Lost in the Taiga: One Russian Family's Fifty-Year Struggle for Survival and Religious Freedom in the Siberian Wilderness, by Vasily Peskov. Documentary history of the Lykov family of Old Believers who migrated to Siberia in the late 1930's and lived as hermits in the taiga, only "discovered" in the late 1970's by a Soviet geologist. Later focus on sole survivor Agafia.
The Last Anchorite (UK, 2008)
director and cinematographer, Remigiusz Sowa.
Part 1 embedded above; part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag6WE__82Q8
The "last anchorite" is Father Lazarus El-Anthony, a Coptic hermit
living in solitude on Mount Colzim (of St. Anthony's cave), Egypt. An
Australian, he worked as a university lecturer teaching literature and
philosophy, chiefly Marxism. After his mother's death from cancer, he
rethought his life, left Australia, and ultimately came to live as a
monk in the desert of Egypt.
Extreme Pilgrim (UK, 2008)
Produced by BBC-Television; featuring Peter Owens-Jones.
Part 3: "Egypt" embedded above; parts 1
("China") and 2
("India")
also available..
British vicar Peter Owen Jones is in quest of a "spiritual
enlightenment" lost in the West. He visits China to investigate
Buddhism and travels with sadhus in India. In the last episode he
follows
the path of St. Antony the hermit of Egypt, including a cave solitude
of 21 days.
The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun (Denmark,2007)
director and cinematographer, Pernille Rose Grønkjær
produced by Sigrid Dyekjær
from the website (no longer available):
The story of Mr. Vig, a well educated 86 year-old bachelor, and Sister
Amvrosija, a Russian nun, who by chance, or destiny, becomes part of
his life. Mr. Jørgen Laursen Vig is owner of a worn down castle
situated in the Danish country side. All his life Mr. Vig has dreamed
of turning his castle into a Russian orthodox monastery.
Amongst White Clouds (Canada, 2005)
produced by Edward Burger
http://www.amongstclouds.com
from the website: The lives of zealot students, gaunt
ascetics and wise masters living in
isolated hermitages dotting the peaks and valleys of China’s Zhongnan
Mountain range. The Zhongnan Mountains have been home to recluses since
the time of the Yellow Emperor, some five thousand years ago. Many of
China's most realized Buddhist masters attained enlightenment in this
very range!
Into Great Silence (Germany, 2005)
produced by Philip Groening
http://www.diegrossestille.de/deutsch
- no longer updated
from the website:
The Grande Chartreuse, the mother house of the legendary Carthusian
Order, is based in the French Alps. "Into Great Silence" will be the
first film ever about life inside the Grande Chartreuse. ...
Silence. Repetition. Rhythm. The film is an austere, next to silent
meditation on monastic life in a very pure form. No music except the
chants in the monastery, no interviews, no commentaries, no extra
material.
Flower in the Desert (Germany,2004)
produced by Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN)
from the CRTN website:
This short documentary recounts
the life of St Anthony and the breed of men that followed in his
footsteps till today– seeking the wealth of God through the physical,
emotional and psychological poverty of solitude.
Cave in the Snow (Australia, 2002) [excerpt]
produced by Liz Thompson and Ellenor Cox
http://tenzinpalmo.com/shop/
- from the producer: http://www.firelight.com.au/cave.html
from the Tensin Palmo website:
Inspired by the international best-selling biography "Cave in the Snow"
by Vicki McKenzie, this is the documentary of the extraordinary life of
Venerable Tenzin Palmo.
from the production website:
In 1976 she isolated herself for twelve years in a remote Himalayan
cave to deepen her meditation practice. Here she faced unimaginable
cold, wild animals, near-starvation and avalanches; grew her own food
and slept in a traditional wooden meditation box, three-feet-square -
she never lay down.
Hermits: Freedom or Madness (Australia,1998)
produced by Peter Thomas, Albert Sreet Productions/ABC TV
(Australia)
http://catholictv.tv:80/new/images/stories/videos/Freedom.wmv
and in full: http://catholictv.tv:80/new/images/stories/videos/Freedom.wmv
from the ABC TV website:
[This documentary] follows six very different Australians who've all
chosen to live lives of complete seclusion, free from obligations -
withdrawn from society (yet in some cases still living in urban
environs), exploring life in
depth. We meet people like Vyn Bailey, a hermit and yogin - Father
Ronan, a priest and anchorite - and Pravrajika Ajayaprana, a Hindu nun.
PAGE 2: Documentaries (biographical) - PAGE 3: Feature films (Fiction) - PAGE 4: Films about solitude
Other Features
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Sayings, in the hermitary style