The Cold Lands

Young Atticus feels secure under his mother’s constant care in the picturesque and provincial Hudson River Valley, cut off from civilization, living on what others throw away. But his mother’s death interrupts this bucolic anti-consumerist  tale. When the 14-year-old leaves home, nature ceases to be  a wellspring of wonder, or his friend. Without his mother’s care, interactions with others become a source of danger,  as well as  motivation to grow up fast. Fear of loneliness forces him to become close to a mysterious vagabond who is unable to take life seriously. Tom Gilroy’s contemplative film could be an adaptation of Thoreau’s Walden,  minus the narration. It is a  combination of a  coming-of-age story and a road film, spun  from daydreams about freedom from social conventions and  the untamed  desire for adventure.