Where Man Returns (2019)

• 70%
• 2019
• Documentary
• Egil Håskjold Larsen

Steinar (75) made the choice to leave everything. A community, his family and the mining industry where he worked for 28 years, for the benefit of a life close to nature. In an isolated icy universe on Europe's northernmost tip, just a kilometer from the Norwegian border with Russia, he spends his time in his tiny little cabin. In this icy sweetness he lives with his only friend, the dog Tussi, with a fascinating closeness to the elements and nature, and especially the birds with which he has a special relationship. We follow his days and his process of catching food, and living off what nature up here can provide. He lives a good and free life out here, and we get to know his methods and abilities as a hunter. Although he seems to enjoy his life, there is no doubt that he lives an isolated and arduous life. Steinar's situation is in itself extreme, and there is a loneliness over his life. His dilemma is first and foremost an inner dilemma. In his quest for freedom, where his definition is a life in harmony with nature, he seems to meet resistance both from nature, but also from parts of what it means to be a human being.