How much is a mushroom worth? Far Beyond the Pasturelands is an account of how, in the Nepalese highlands of the Himalayas, villagers take time out of their lives to go and search for a particular rare strain of caterpillar mushroom, which are worth five dollars a pop, and presumably far more when they eventually get to market. The film’s remit remains strictly within the mushroom picking season of the villagers, so how this process fits into the wider matrix of globalisation is never revealed. At the same time, the villagers in their tents are seen watching a Bollywood movie or getting their phones charged as they camp out for the season, miles from their homes and any notion of urban civilisation. They seem to enjoy their foray into the highlands, even if the work is back-breaking and frustrating: it’s possible to go an entire day without finding a single mushroom. The wider context of their lives is only alluded to, although the desire to give their children a better education to escape poverty comes through as a common theme when we hear what the villagers have to say.
No comments:
Post a Comment