FILMHOUNDS Magazine

All things film – In print and online

A Man And His Wilderness – Bogancloch (Edinburgh International Film Festival)

Jake Williams in Ben Divers' Bogancloch, which received its UK premiere at the 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival

Image: © Rediance

Bogancloch is the third film from director Ben Rivers that focuses on the reclusive Jake Williams, following This is My Land (2006) and Two Years at Sea (2011). Williams has lived in the Clashindarroch Forest in Aberdeenshire, Scotland for over three decades. Far from feeling like an exile, he is a recluse by choice. While not completely detached from the outside world – he owns a car and makes very limited use of the internet – he nonetheless revels in a life lived as part of the wilderness around him. It is a man living on what can feel like the edge of the world that plays the central role in Rivers' latest film. 

Bogancloch is the name of Williams' home; a caravan and abandoned outbuilding in the middle of the woods. Rivers' film follows his existence across the seasons, which is spent making himself busy but also living a life of relative peace. He takes long ambles in the forest, prepares food from scratch, and travels to work as a school teacher. With an untamed beard and hair, he gives the impression that he is akin to a wizard. And much like the wizards of classic old tales, he feels more at home in the harmony of nature than he does mingling with other human beings (who appear sparingly – Williams does not reject them, but does not go out of his way to find company). 

Bogancloch is shot almost exclusively in grainy black and white, which sees Williams blend into his surroundings so convincingly you would think he is camouflaged. So dark is the footage sometimes that Williams seems to disappear entirely into the fog of the frame. The presentation emphasises how one with the land Williams has become. The only clashes of colour come when looking at snapshots and photos of what looks like Williams' younger self, hinting at a well-travelled past. It adds a respectful air of mystery to a man whose daily life is extraordinary in the quietest sense of the word. On a similar note, there is practically no score. Instead, Rivers' film is set to the soundscape of the woods. You hear only the chirping of the birds, the whistle of the wind, and everything else you might expect to hear during a trape through the woodlands. It envelopes you in Williams' way of life, even if the black-and-white presentation prevents you from completely and utterly seeing the world as he sees it.

Bogancloch is a documentary, but this is not a traditional conversation between filmmaker and subject. The film is almost dialogue-free, the first words being spoken coming well over half an hour into the 85-minute running time. Between this and footage so low-resolution it can give you a headache, Bogancloch is not a film for life in the fast lane. It instead encourages you to watch the film in the same way Williams watches the world go by; with patience and tuning in to every sound and sensation around you. This can, admittedly, make Rivers' film difficult to watch. It is harder for the audience to give themselves over to this lifestyle than it clearly is for Williams. It doesn't take away from the beauty of Bogenloch's portrayal, but it can make it harder to appreciate in full. 

A challenging but fascinating experience, Bogancloch is a film that will reward you if you are willing to quieten your mind enough to spend quality time with an old man and his intentionally solitary life. If you can't, then it can appear a bewildering and testing cinematic experience. If you can, you stand to gain a whole new perspective of what living as one with the world around you really means. 

Bogancloch had its UK premiere on 18th August 2024 as part of the 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival.