The Trouble with Nature

Rampant debt and a significant midlife crisis send philosopher Edmund Burke (Antony Langdon) fleeing from London to embark on an expedition through the French Alps. He brings along a servant on loan from his brother's plantation in the West Indies, a young indigenous woman named Awak (Nathalia Acevedo). Together they set out to discover the sublime in this 18th-century road movie. Ill-equipped for the outdoor life, Burke whinges the days away while Awak carries all their supplies and makes sure his face is perpetually powdered. With ample snark and a masterful sense of natural light, Jacobi, acting as both cinematographer and director, constructs each scene of his debut feature with a sense of humour and a delicate frame. Will Burke find a fitting subject for his philosophical inquiry in the immensity of Mother Nature's beauty? Or will the natural world become his master in the end? (International Film Festival Rotterdam)