Have you ever thought about what it would be like to go off-the-grid? Go on a thrilling adventure with these films and documentaries about living in the wilderness. These nature titles are a great addition to any Earth Day programming. This list is inspired by the recent release Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand, which follows Fern's post-Great Recession journey across the American West while living in her van. Whether fictional narratives or true stories, these films will inspire others to embark on an exciting journey to discover themselves.
Wild
Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon takes audiences on a transformative expedition in the 2014 film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée based on Cheryl Strayed's 2012 memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. After a personal tragedy, Cheryl went on a hundred-mile hike by herself which changed her life forever. Witherspoon shines in the role, particularly alongside Laura Dern as her mother.
Read our review of Wild.
Get your copy of the Wild 4K Blu-ray by clicking here.
Land
Robin Wright recently made her directorial feature film debut in this moving drama. Similar to Wild, Land centers around Edee (Wright) who seeks a new solitary life in the Wyoming mountains after facing a heartbreaking tragedy. Wright's film has remarkable cinematography and she delivers an emotional performance.
Get your copy of the Land Blu-ray DVD by clicking here.
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
Legendary documentarian Werner Herzog is no stranger to exploring nature and in 2010 he teamed up with Dmitry Vasyukov for this feature. This film documents the daily work and life of the Russian trappers in a village of the Siberian Taiga. The documentary feels very down-to-earth in its depiction of the citizen's difficult challenges. Also, you have to love Herzog’s quirky humor with his narration.
Read our review of Happy People: A Year in the Taiga.
Get your copy of the Happy People: A Year in the Taiga DVD by clicking here.
Swiss Army Man
Not many audiences were expecting to see Daniel Radcliffe play a rotting, farting, dead corpse in Daniel Scheinert’s Swiss Army Man. The unique film had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016 and received praise from audiences. Hank (Paul Dano), a depressed and hopeless man, is stuck on a deserted island and becomes friends with a dead corpse, Mandy (Radcliffe), and they embark on a hypnotic adventure to return home. This bizarre and dark comedy explores the power of Dano and Radcliffe's friendship and true chemistry.
Read our review of Swiss Army Man.
Get your copy of the Swiss Army Man Blu-ray DVD by clicking here.
Alone in the Wilderness
Travel back to 1968 with conservationist, wildlife photographer, writer Dick Proenneke who lived alone in the mountains of Alaska in a log cabin for thirty years. He became the director of this documentary released in 2004 but had passed away at age 86 in April 2003. This documentary shows his time in the wilderness by building the log cabin he lived in and spent months with no human contact. There also happens to be a part two available on the web and is a must-watch for anyone who has desires to build their own cabin.
Get your copy of the Alone in the Wilderness DVD by clicking here.
Into the Wild
Another wilderness film based on the book by Jon Krakauer. Directed, produced, and written by Sean Penn, Into the Wild is based on the international bestseller and non-fiction book of the same name. Set in the early 90s, Emile Hirsh stars as Chris McCandless a.k.a Alexander Supertramp, a man who hiked across North American into the Alaskan Wilderness. The film tells McCandless’s true story and journey while meeting characters played by Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, and Hal Holbrook to name a few. The film features an original song written by Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder which won the film a Golden Globe and the film went on to earn two Academy Awards including Best Editing and Best Supporting Actor for Holbrook.
Read our review of Into the Wild.
Get your copy of the Into the Wild DVD by clicking here.
All the Time in the World
This documentary follows a family as they ditch comfortable normalcy to live off-the-grid in a small cabin in the Yukon wilderness during the long, bitterly cold winter. Filmed over the course of nine months with no crew, this story is from the perspective of three children. All the Time in the World takes place in a disconnected world with no electricity and running water and connecting with family and nature.
Leave No Trace
Another must-watch is Debra Granik’s 2018 drama based on Peter Rock’s book My Abandonment. In the film, a father and his thirteen-year-old daughter live in the expansive Park, Oregon woods and urban park where a small mishap could get them discovered and change their lives forever. Leave No Trace currently sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie give remarkable performances in this emotional familial drama helmed by Granik, who previously directed Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone. Michael McDonough’s picturesque cinematography also stands out, a love letter to the beauty of nature.
Read our review of Leave No Trace.
Get your copy of the Leave No Trace Blu-ray by clicking here.