Nature is a powerful entity in most cultures traditions and customs is a deity that no one has control of and that power is eternal and boundless spiritual and meaningful and is always in balance, the wildlings are all created or evolved to function as a system and all these components are interconnected the post wild or the human are a mere part of the same web same code and same functions and is thus the spiritual entity is not only humans but also the wild creatures and the characteristics such as jelosy hunger, anger or greed lust are not only bounded to animals but appears in humans too, this is what I saw in the film, I will be analysing the amazing shots and visuals and the meanings in his feature film Ashes and Snow.
The viewer who was not ready to grasp any of this amazing footage was humbly invited to follow the narrator, awakening and tranquilising the curious mind within the first narration itself, the first question my mind kept on asking me was who is the narrator? is it the earth, the elephant or the man who has left his busy life as a human and has retried into the serenity of nature, the answer probably is the Man. The answer was certain after proceeding into the depth of the film yet the doubt arose because of the drifting raft with the Buddhist monks slowly floating in between the two majestic elephants which was as if the elephants themself was inviting us. the beauty which I saw in this work is also this, images left me unspoken about what I should relate to as there were so many to relate to and so many symbols appeared in front of me, analysing the first shot with the narration this was what I was trying to grasp the first impression was just a wow and then I was trying to grasp it slowly, the two majestic elephants one being a tusker and is placed on the right side of the screen and the elephant placed on the left slowly standing from the waters which clearly showed no end and sky drifting to the infinite this was as if a portal an entrance the doorstep to the world Greoghry Colbert was inviting us to follow, and the elephants standing guard as a guard stone of a sacred temple of the Buddhist cultures, the elephants have always been the guardians in Buddhist culture which includes the life of the Budhha himself, this is why I believe that the First shot is actually the entrance and that through out this exploration the majestic will stand in guard.
The narration which was whispering was strong enough to echo in the minds of the viewers and was also able to tranquillize the mind through the music which was being played, the immediate shot after this was a man which was first appeared as an egg, well the appearance of the man curled in a position which resembles the embryo was able to deliver it's a message clearly, the water body that traps the man centring him symbolises the embryo itself just as the embryo is protected and nourished inside of the water bag of the womb the man starts to grow slowly interacting with the water as if he dances the steps of the flowing waters itself this is also clearly mentioned in the narration which is latter stated as
"I Want to dance the dance that has no steps I want to become the dance"
The man then joins the dance with a girl who appears to come from the surface and she pushes him I don't really know if that was intended I was trying to bring an idea to that as if it was a hint saying that you are from the water itself the man and the women both are a part of the water and also to join again in there eternal dance. The couple soon meets with ocean life which makes me wonder how was this really shot, sleeping on the tail of a manatee swimming with humpback whales this looks so great that it captivates the mind and leaves you wondering what a great feeling could it have been.
Each shot is carefully composed and carries different symbols and enchanting elegance with tranquillity delivered from the music. The visuals captivate the viewers making the viewers themselves carried underwater and manipulated effortlessly to float and dance to the tune of nature, the elephants that appear immediately after this scene tell the true story about the elephants going back to the first shots of the guardians the great god-like animals keeping a close watch on us the gentle giants and the supreme tranquillity they possess,
the shot which shows the boy sleeping in front of the elephants water spraying by the elephants the girls sharing the spirit with the elephant dancing and enjoying the presence of such a guardian-like creature is captured here,
The shot of a monk completes the narration the start of the real narration is the part which tells us or perhaps hints to us about the narrator,
"I dissapeared exactly one year ago
On that day, I received a letter
It called me back to the place
where my life with the Elephants began
Please forgive me for the silence between us
has been unbroken for one year
This letter breaks that silence
It marks the first of my
three hundred and sixty five letters to you
One for each day of silence
I will never be more myself,
than in these letters"
The book" Novel in Letters" is the source of the narration and all the poem-like letters that the narration makes us hear, and these also led me to doubt the question which arose - Are these letters for women that this man loved or for the viewer? the answer that I have found suggested that it was for a woman whom this man loved
"The title Ashes and Snow refers to the literary component of the exhibition—a fictional account of a man who, over the course of a yearlong journey, composes 365 letters to his wife. The source of the title is revealed in the 365th letter." (https://gregorycolbert.com/ashes-and-snow/)
but what I truly felt was these letters were for us the viewers requesting us to understand what he has understood the message that he has seen but had been unclear to us, the message saying we are one all earthlings and us, this reminds me of a famous quote
"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."
Chief Seattle
which matches many sentences from the poem itself also I think that the man has attained some state of sainthood during these years and was able to lift his spirituality to an extended extent which in Buddhism is considered as sovan where he sees things as they truly are and a small sentence grasped my eye and ear which I just heard it and saw it
"Ever since my house burnt down
I see the moon more clearly"
This sentence blew my mind it has such a weight that I was driven to it instantly the understanding that we gain through experience and the knowledge we possess after the experience yet what this says about the whole narration could not be a message like that yet the understanding in which the narrator saw the beauty of the nature and the connectivity once he has abandoned the secular human lifestyle and retired to the forest, the first element which was the Buddhist monks keeps on making my mind stuck to the idea of Budhsium which explains the beauty of the forest the importance of nature and human-animal coexistence and also that the idea which bugs me by saying this man has surely retried to a forest monastery yet the future visuals led me to think its universal and not bounded to any religion but is only bounded to the mother nature itself.
I gazed upon all the Edens that have fallen in me
I saw Edens that I had held in my hands,
but let go
I saw promises I did not keep
Pains I did not sooth
Wounds I did not heal
Tears I did not shed
I saw deaths I did not mourn
Prayers I did not answer
Doors I did not open
Doors I did not close
Lovers I left behind
And dreams I did not live
I saw all that was offered to me,
that I could not accept
I saw the letters I wished for,
but never received
I saw all that could have been,
but never will be"
these words suggested to me that he has truly awakened his mind and his inner peace from what he has seen in the narration even though was linked to a different visual, this shot in which we see the Buddhist monk meditating and the falcon spreading its wings from the back, matched the idea in which he says about liberation the wings being metaphors to freedom that he gained after letting go.
The other shots which mesmerised me were the two shots which showed some young monks walking calmly on a Pagoda (a Buddhist shrine) then a falcon flying freely away and then we see a young Buddhist monk who came calmly running happily on the same pagoda, this shot of a monk running is very unlikely the Buddhist monks are considered to walk and live in a tranquil state and that they almost don't run but walk silently collecting their thoughts but this shot surely defies even the state of being collected but to be happy and be free even breaking the rules of being locked inside the cage of discipline as the discipline is not by rule or order but is something that has to be gained by understanding the running monk may have been the symbol of freedom the freedom to join with nature and unite with the wind just as the flying falcon uses the wind for its freedom.
The amount of shots that tell greater stories is immense in this film I'm uncertain if this shot analysis would take a long document if I were to analyse it in each so I will move on to the most mindblowing ones, many shots suggest the spiritual connection of Buddhist monks and the great elephants the rituals of guardian figure and the tranquil figure there are two more shots from this area I have to definitely focus on.
This shot was very famous throughout the film I saw the exact shot but with different animals, several times this is the first out of the elephant climbing on top of a step and a girl lying on an alter The purpose of this shot is very difficult to grasp is this bout the elephants' beings healers or is this shot in which shows how impressively gigantic and powerful these creatures are compared to the human or is this something more, is this a depiction which suggests a human animal sexual relationship maybe this is to show that all organisms are blood and bone and ash and snow to prove that the lifeforce of each is the same,
The above shots are the other similar shots which showed the same position, the goat and the cheetah the only similarity is the positions and the human to be a young girl who is at its youth to flourish to womanhood, which I suggest could be the showcase of life force being equal and thus to show that all species are same blood and bone.
This same message emphasises that nature and man are equal is well displayed in the narration, and the sentence was repeated four times in different moods or vibrations whispering too loud and faster as if it was a chant or a spell which made the viewers bound to the clip and was unable to move the eyes away
"Feather to fire
fire to blood
blood to bone
bone to marrow
marrow to ashes
ashes to snow"
This clearly enhanced the idea that whether it's a feather or blood to the bone to marrow it's all interconnected in my opinion this sentence not only supports the idea of coexistence but also gives an idea about renewal a new start just like the phoenix bird when the feathers are burned and dead it doesn't stop it rises from the ashes just like this all living beings should be risen and seen in same value because what runs in us is same blood same bone and same marrow, perhaps the name of the film also selected from this sentence Ashes and Snow which I strongly believe as Ashes are considered to be impurities and the death of the diseased but Snow is considered as pure and is cold and refreshing the name should be suggesting us the same concept of renewal, renewal to a life with spiritual understanding with each organism just as the pure Snow and the impure Ashes fall from the sky just as both are equal and opposite beautiful in its on ways respecting the unknown and known the man and the best should be risen up.
When considering that shots which apply to the theory which shows the elephant as the guardian and the life returning to the elephant is considered to be spiritual and is a blessing in this life and the next few of the shots like the once mentioned below strongly supported my idea,
the lay kids shown here in the first shot are shown to be performing a ritual which suggests the death of a young boy and that the young boy was then put into a raft is floated, this raft flows away from a young woman and then travels between two elephants and the next shot appeared to the very first shot of the film which showed the monk floating toward the elephants, this might suggest to meanings one may be that the way from elephants with the women in the background refers to as secular life because the narration itself plays the part which said
"Ever since my house burnt down
I see the moon more clearly"
is depicted in this shot and the next suggests that let go and attain sainthood and enter the world of nature through the entrance guarded by elephants also maybe this is what he says to the lover whom he left when retreating to nature and gaining the guidance of the elephants to develop his spiritual path.
Furthermore, other visual elements like the one with the cheetahs and the meerkats suggest the connection of the living nature of both humans and the animals living in the desert being equal to the meerkat the cheetah and the desert living nomads, that the guardian of the desert is the cheetah just as the elephant which was shown before and the humans are part of that great dessert guided and protected by the cheetahs from the strongest soul such as the cheetahs itself to the small soul such as meerkat,
The shots in this same scene also give a deeper meaning like the shot which shows the three women in this shot throughout the scene of the cheetah and the meerkat we are also introduced to three females two girls and young woman and an old woman showing the eternal love of maternity and also the three stages of feminity the best shot which I believe represents this is that the transition which shows the girl to women and then to old women.
The maturity of the problems in life the experience of fear of death and sex mutilation power hunger are also shown in the most aesthetic ways possible the director was able to show the existence of the humans and the wildlings which the director calls the masterpiece of the nature are connected together in the film in which I am still speechless to know how even did he plan these shots as you cannot plan shots with animals it must have been a very difficult task and maybe even some greenscreen were also used especially in the shot in which I believe that shows the nature of humans and animals that become wilder the mutilation power, hunger and sexual appetite, The shot where sudden transition happen this completely changes fro m the tranqulitye in the first few shots and makes sudden changes and also the quick dancing of the female model also the gragaully changes to suspense and darker vibe of music and the color changes from seian umber to a more destaurated color of the same color, the animals which were humble at first slowly change into quick fearless and angry ,these shots shows an African hunting dog pack almost attacking the dancer this is the shot I refer to as the entrance of mutany the disterbance the resistance the wrath of the nature itself , Though there is more that we can discuss in this masterpiece I would like to move on to the last shots to analyse the shots which take us back to the seas back to the tranquillity which remained in the early shots the same vibe but now enhanced, and is also socked in the best narration to give peace and spirituality back to the clip.
