What a night on BBC4 - Noggin the Nog, early Doctor Who, Julia Bradbury striding along the Birmingham to Worcester canal in the rain and...best of all....photographer Ragnar Axelsson's utterly beautiful images flickering across my screen. Axelsson's documentary is a meditation on disappearing lifestyles and changing landscapes. His photos are truly extraordinary. Intensely Biblical faces appear at the corners of bleak snowscapes, their skin like fissured bark on ancient trees. They all look proud and sad and old, looking beyond the camera; seemingly focussed, like the lens that returns their gaze, on infinity.
With a backdrop of shimmering music that perfectly suits the austerity of icy landscapes, this film follows hunters in Greenland, documents the violence of Icelandic volcanoes, records the memories and fears of aged men in a changing world. As Axelsson concludes, whatever happens to Nature in this place, it will always present an immense challenge to the people who share in its resources.
Do yourself a favour and watch this magnificent film.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0110ghk
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