“In her handmade universe…” states the synopsis. I’m captured already.
This was the second time I watched Agatha’s Almanac, an 86-minute documentary-esque film by Amalie Atkins and her crew of all women.
It felt so honouring of women everywhere, somehow. Just to show us how Agatha alone, content, growing her own food, mending her clothes.
I loved how the film shows us Agatha’s relationship with trees. She loves them; they keep her company and watch over her memories as she grows old in her childhood home.
I love how the film places us alongside her, in nature. Sure, she lives in a house… but it’s a house that keeps her connected to the world outside. The sounds are captured beautifully. Raindrops. Crickets. And the gorgeous crisp sound of harvesting vegetables, cutting watermelon, winnowing beans.
I sit transfixed by the screen — the vivid images, the deep colours, the extraordinary sounds that somehow take me back to my own childhood, trailing my grandmother in her large garden on the other side of the yard that we shared. I lean back and feel like I am resting in a deep sense, by taking in this film.
Agatha’s aloneness is beautiful too. I think when I first saw the film, while I admired Agatha from the get-go, I was also caught up in my concern for her. Should she really be living so alone? Is she safe?
But upon second viewing, this time I saw how strong she was. How self-possessed. When she did need help, she knew how to reach out. Like the time she found herself bleeding out from her ankle.
She expressed her love and care for others in providing food. Soup, pie, fresh berries.
Her contentment and connection to the earth just really speak to me.
And she is beautiful. She has kept herself strong and sharp, completely unbothered. She knows how she wants to be.
Watching the film at the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach was a different experience from watching it at Cinematheque in Winnipeg’s Exchange District. The film was presented in Steinbach by the MHV Auxiliary and the Steinbach & Area Garden Club. I think there were a great many garden club members in attendance, and I took in all the moments when Agatha on the screen explained why she did certain things, such as avoid cut worms, or plant seeds, I could hear the murmurs extending throughout the auditorium. There were also many times when Agatha was reflecting on life and there were murmurs of agreement throughout the crowd. All as one: “mmmmm.” At times almost meditative.
The best part was, Agatha Bock herself would be in attendance. I sat near her, dazzled by her presence, able to hear some of her comments as the film rolled.
For some reason, upon first watching I had missed the part about her being Mennonite. It wasn’t told explicitly, but she served roll kuchen with watermelon. She referenced Mennonite floor patterns, as a matter of memory. And she refused to marry a Catholic.
The music during the strawberry picking scene may have indicated this was not a normal film. Ethereal at first, building into… the menacing?
There is the scene where she reflects on her siblings who died young. There were many. Each represented by an empty lawn chair.
So many beautiful details depicted in the film. Her labels. Shoes. Red socks. The giant watermelon. And her use of knives. But mostly, her closeness to nature — uninterrupted. In old age. I feel like that’s the dream.
Watch the trailer here.
It’s worth it to pay attention to the events page of the Mennonite Heritage Village, here.