On the Wild Edge is about a life lived on and in a place held close to the heart—a place on the edge of the wild. The director, Christopher Daley, operated as a nearly invisible facilitator. The film is more memoir than documentary–the voice is David Petersen’s, and the story is his story.
I’m far from qualified to pontificate on what is or is not radical, unprecedented or innovative in film, but I doubt very much that the cutting edge is particularly relevant to “On the Wild Edge.” Having said that, I must also say that I haven’t seen anything quite like it and I hope to see more.
On the Wild Edge renders the unfolding of a single elk season in the context of a whole life and way of life. Hunting is at the core of this film just as it is at the core of David Petersen’s life and his bond with his beloved home territory in southwestern Colorado.
[It’s not a hunting movie. There are no hoots, hollers, high fives, and/or idiot grins over bloody carcasses.]
Elk having been Petersen’s source of winter meat for more than thirty years, he has taken them into his blood and bones. His relationship with elk has become part of his identity as a person endeavoring to live within his own ecosystem, not merely on it.
The film is rendered with an economy of means that makes no sacrifice of grace, sophistication, or meaning for the sake of its economy. There’s no false modesty, but humility abounds and there are moments of perfect, unscripted authenticity—the body language of a bear, a yellow jacket sting, and tragedy.
On a more personal note, On the Wild Edge brought me back to my own wild edge(s) and I’m grateful for that.
Topic: A review (of sorts) of my friend, Dave Petersen's, film (Read 562 times)
