Dès le départ, la cinquantenaire fait une mise au point : elle n’est pas une athlète, elle craint un peu l’idée de faire du camping toute seule et son matériel n’est pas issu de la toute dernière technologie. Son vélo a 40 ans, ses quatre premières tentes s’autodétruisent ou disparaissent dans les deux premiers mois de l’expédition.
Elle ne tient pas à accomplir un exploit. Elle veut essentiellement se reconnecter au territoire et rendre hommage aux ancêtres des peuples autochtones d’aujourd’hui. Lorsqu’elle aperçoit un animal sauvage, elle lui murmure : « You’re sacred [tu es sacré] “.
Surprisingly, she says nothing of the sort to the mosquitoes who devour her while crossing Quebec, or to the unfriendly black bear who forces her to run away at full speed from a beach in the Northwest Territories.
The film is a bit long, but we understand that it is difficult to summarize six years of travel in less than two hours. Fortunately, the director maintains interest thanks to always different landscapes, beautifully filmed, and the sometimes abrupt change of seasons (oops, the system of lakes and rivers on the border of Ontario and Manitoba freezes earlier than expected , which is problematic when you mean to travel it by canoe).
There are a few twists and turns: difficult portages, perilous navigation conditions on Lake Superior. But they are relatively few in number, given the length of the journey. It is more of a long introspection than an adventure film.
Friends accompany the director during certain sections, which adds interesting human interactions. Dianne Whelan also meets First Nations people here and there, but most of the time she is alone. His narration, often tinged with humor, accompanies the images well.
It remains to be seen why the film is titled 500 Days in the Wild while Dianne Whelan spent 1862 days traveling in Canada. Perhaps she hoped to accomplish it all in 500 days? Reality caught up with her.
500 Days in the Wild is presented in theaters in English.
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Documentary
500 Days in the Wild
Dianne Whelan
2:04 a.m.