''Seasons'' () is a 2015 French-German

nature documentary A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or television documentary, series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures. Nature documentaries usually concentrate on video taken in the subject's nat ...

film directed, produced, co-written, and narrated by

Jacques Perrin Jacques Perrin (; born Jacques André Simonet ; 13 July 1941 – 21 April 2022) was a French actor and film producer. He was occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Early life Jacques André Simonet was born on the Boulevard Port-Royal in ...

, with Jacques Cluzaud as co-director. In Japanese, the film was narrated by

Fumino Kimura is a Japanese actress. Filmography Film * ''Kaze no Dadu'' (2006), Ayumi Asano * ''Adan'' (2006), Adan * ''Paradise Kiss'' (2011) * ''Run60'' (2011), Maki * ''Gokudō Meshi, Sukiyaki'' (2011), Shiori Mizushima * ''Ramo Trip'' (2012), Mari Ijic ...

and

Shōfukutei Tsurube II , born , is a Japanese rakugo comedian and actor. Filmography Film *'' Tokyo Heaven'' (1990) *'' Moving'' (1993) *'' Wait and See'' (1998) *'' Kabei: Our Mother'' (2008) - Senkichi *'' Dear Doctor'' (2009) - Dr. Osamu Ino *'' About Her Broth ...

. The Japanese version used "Eversolving" by

Crystal Kay is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host. After releasing her first single, "Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, ''Almost Seventeen'' (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese O ...

for the theme song.

Synopsis

The film traces the history of the European forest from the end of the last

glacial period A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

to the present, addressing the disruptions caused by human activities. Nature is at the center of the film, and humans appear only rarely and very gradually. The perspective is therefore as little

anthropocentric Anthropocentrism ( ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity on the planet. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. From a ...

as possible. It successively evokes the first

hunter-gatherers A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially w ...

, the domestication of the wolf, the clearances that wiped out the

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

, and the development of agriculture. The village, which would form the demographic base of European society for millennia, is recalled several times through views of bell towers and the sounds of bells—also referring to the role of medieval clearing monks. Many species are shown, often in very close-up shots, to remind viewers of the beauty and diversity of European wildlife. Rural landscapes are presented, along with their quality in terms of biodiversity—they have offered many species a good alternative to the primary forest. The

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

is particularly referenced, as it contributed to the disappearance of traditional rural society. The film concludes with an essential question: after having destroyed so much, will humanity be able to create the conditions for harmonious coexistence with its co-inhabitants of the planet?

Filming

The filming took place in 2013 and 2014, partly in Ain (in the

Parc des Oiseaux The Parc des Oiseaux () is a zoological park located in Villars-les-Dombes in the department of Ain in France. The site is recorded in the and was opened in 1970. It is one of the oldest ornithological parks in France and brings together a colle ...

Villars-les-Dombes Villars-les-Dombes (, literally ''Villars near Dombes'') is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Its people are known as ''Villardois''. Geography The town is located within Ain, half-way between Lyon (33 km) and Bourg- ...

, on the , and in Hauteville), in Drôme (), in Isère (

Vercors Massif The Vercors massif (; ) is a mountain range in eastern France consisting of rugged plateaus and mountains straddling the ''département in France, départements'' of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps. It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps, ...

), in Rhône (at , in the Monts du Lyonnais), in Loire (Chazeaux), in Savoie (in

Vanoise National Park Vanoise National Park () is a French national park between the Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys in the French Alps, containing the Vanoise massif. It was created in 1963 as the first national park in France. Vanoise National Park is in the '' ...

, in the

Maurienne Valley Maurienne (; ; ) is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Location The Maurienne valle ...

, on the Mont-Cenis Massif), in Haute-Savoie (on the Mont Blanc Massif, in , at Roc de Chère and

Lake Annecy Lake Annecy (, ) is a perialpine lake in Haute-Savoie in France. It is named after the city of Annecy, which marks the start of the Thiou, Lake Annecy's outflow river.Jean-Daniel Stanley and Thomas F. Jorstad, ''Direct Sediment Dispersal from Moun ...

) as well as in the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States.Les Saisons
auvergnerhonealpes-cinema.fr

References

External links

Official website
* 2015 films 2015 documentary films Pathé films Documentary films about animals Documentary films about nature 2010s French-language films French documentary films French independent films German documentary films Films about animals Films scored by Bruno Coulais 2010s French films 2010s German films Films directed by Jacques Perrin Films produced by Jacques Perrin French-language German films {{nature-documentary-film-stub