The documentary The Gardener will be released in theaters in New York and on demand on March 30th
There is something incredibly relaxing about The Gardener that sets it apart from most documentaries one sees. Nothing within the film feels exactly compelling with regards to story, but there is a constant joy one feels while watching the film. It is a simple delight, one that manages to constantly treat the eyes and ears in ways that can’t help but make you smile. By the end of the feeling, I realized I didn’t much pay attention to the story being told in The Gardener, as I was far more engrossed by the visual marvel that was portrayed on screen.
The film concerns Frank Cabot, the titular horticulturist who built one of the most massive and amazing private gardens in the world at his estate in Quebec. The American Mr. Cabot, who was 86 at his passing only a few years ago and not long after the filming of the documentary, builds his over twenty-acre estate in such a way that makes for a treat visually. Every plant and every organism feels specific, and each shot is masterful in a way that captures the pure beauty of nature.
Visually, the film combines the styles of two different kinds of documentary filmmaking to make a wonderful painting on the screen. In looking at the history of the garden and of Cabot himself, the film takes from masters like Ken Burns in combining talking-head interviews with photos going back to the times being discussed. While these historical elements are what the film bases the story around for a majority of the runtime, it is far less joy-inducing than the shots that seem more simple of nature in existence. But director Sébastien Chabot and cinematography from Chabot and Geneviève Ringuet manage to craft a moving story just through this footage of the plants and trees and structures that Cabot has divested his life to sustaining, providing a loving look at a land formerly untouched by cameras. With music from Luc St. Pierre mixing with more classical pieces, it becomes a thrill through capturing the world as it is.
Like a cross between Planet Earth and The Great British Bake-Off, The Gardener is a delight. While slight in its build and not possessing much by way of a story, just viewing the images of nature and of the gardens are enough to draw you in. Pleasant both visually and emotionally, The Gardener is worth seeing for the sole purpose of seeing what true dedication to a craft looks like.
