Details from IMDB:
Life Off Grid
- 2016
- 1h 26m
- Two filmmakers journey across Canada to meet 200 people who live without electricity and gas utilities, exploring their unique lifestyles, innovations, and daily challenges in maintaining a self-sufficient existence.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Karl
Initial Thoughts:
I’ll admit it took me a while to decide on this movie. I was initially in the mood to watch a documentary about Cannabis, but the one I started was terrible and the only good ones I found I had to pay for. So I went to my Prime Video watchlist and found this, it sounded interesting and it’s Canadian, so I gave it a watch this morning with Eleanor, my special kitty, sleeping on my chest.
Main Points:
Like most Canadians, I’ve become a little more vocal and supportive of this great country of ours since 2024 (you know why). I know it’s a little thing, but when I watch a documentary filmed in Canada and directed by a Canadian, and it even features Newfoundland and Labrador, there was a moment when I swelled with pride. All of that is my super-long-winded way of saying I enjoy seeing this documentary about people who live off the grid in Canada. This came out in 2016, and I would love to see a sequel. It would be great for him to visit other parts of Canada and draw a conclusion on whether more people are living off-grid now than 10 years ago, but that’s not what this movie is about.
Really interesting to see people live so independently and truly connect with nature. It’s like one of the people said, “We’re so afraid of our own poop but not of chlorine or bleach? Doesn’t make any sense!”. There was a moment where one guy was outside, and a bird just came and landed on his hand for a moment. I imagine the same bird comes to see him every day, and they have made a small connection; it is lovely. The film, however, does show how some people struggle with off-grid life, and others wonder if they will be able to continue to do it, as it does cost some money. They get into how some of them are survivalists, and they are being prepared for the end times, and there have been days over the past couple of years where I briefly wondered how far away that is. Mostly, though, I was very impressed with all these people who had learned so much about plumbing, electricity and carpentry (among other things). Like they said, why depend on the government and power companies when you can just depend on yourself?
Final Thoughts:
The people interviewed are, mostly, very likable and interesting people. A couple I would describe as being closer to anti-social hermits, but that may just be the case of bad editing. Speaking of, the film does seem amateurish at times and certainly could have benefited from more money/better editing, but that is a small detractor. Really, I think the biggest flaw is that not enough of Canada is covered. I’m sure there are off-grid people in other provinces and territories. I found it was over much too soon, at less than 1.5 hours. Overall, though, I quite enjoyed this and give it a solid 8 out of 10 and big recommendation. I’d love to have the guts/drive to do what they did, but I do hope that someday I can at least set up some solar panels and help the world, it needs it so much. Some mature subject matter/coarse language, so ages 13+.