Movie Review: Wilding

 Movie Number 26 of 2025

The Movie: Wilding

The Cinema: Deckchair Cinema, Darwin

Genre: Documentary

Runtime: 75 minutes

Stars: 5

Tonight's job was to introduce my colleague to the glories of the Deckchair Cinema. My colleague, new to the joys of Darwin, had to have the obligatory first session down there, and I love spreading the joy. It's one of my most favourite cinemas in Australia. 

And my colleague is great company, so things worked out well. 

We ambled down, got a bit of the sunset (which was nice, but not as spectacular as they can be) rolled up, grabbed some cushions, reserved our seats, grabbed some very nice dinner from the caterers and bought a beer, then sat down to enjoy this marvelous film. 

This is a shortish documentary about a couple who have inherited the family pile in a Sussex community. The land has been over-farmed for centuries. The soil and environs had been plied with pesticides, fertilizers and all sorts of nasties which have been used in modern agricultural practices for the last hundred years. 

On the recommendation of a tree expert, who came to look at their ailing oak tree, the idea was planted that there could be another way of doing things. They then went and looked at a re-wilding site in the Netherlands, where land had been turned over to nature, with incredible results. 

Based on Isabella Tree's book, you watch as the couple let their estate be run by nature. Cattle, Exmoor ponies and pigs are introduced to the land. They are left to graze. They're not fed. They have to fend for themselves. And the land is left to do what it does. 

It's nothing short of amazing. 

What follows is an incredible view of what can happen when nature is left to do what it does best. Of course, they have their detractors - the local farmers thought they were mad. But after 15 years of a very hard fight, the land was regenerating - and the animals were thriving. (You can't help falling in love with the pigs and Duncan the Exmoor pony). 

You can find out more in this interview with the ABC here. 

What got me, other than the inspiring story, is the magic cinematography. It's absolutely magic. 

It also gave me some hope. As a small g greenie it drives home the power of nature. 

This is definitely worth a look. It's a short film, but it shows what a bit of dedication, a big idea and a lot of tenacity can do. 

This is definitely worth a look. It's up there with Attenborough, but on a small, more intimate scale. 

Today's song: