Hidden Life of Trees (Das geheime Leben der Bäume)

A documentary by Jörg Adolph. In German and English, with English subtitles. Opens today (August 27) at the Rio Theatre

We see the photos of flames and billowing smoke, we read the statistics about B.C.’s raging wildfires—1,552 wildfires in B.C. since April 1, with over 864,000 hectares of land burned—and many have witnessed the flames and destruction firsthand. Yet it can remain challenging for many to fathom the full magntiude of the damage.

In a year when B.C. forests are facing heightened crises—heat waves, fires, drought, logging threats—a documentary based on the 2015 non-fiction best-seller The Hidden Life of Trees by German conservationist and author Peter Wohlleben has arrived at a critical time to provide an idea of the wonder that is being, or is about to be, destroyed—and what local protestors are fighting to save.

Details about trees and their role within ecosystems take centre stage here. From how parent trees feed youngster trees with liquid sugar to deciduous trees making mutual and strategic decisions about when to bloom simultaneously, Wohlleben divulges how trees act as entities and communities, with what he argues is a form of sentience. And they have their own fungal form of the internet, which some have deemed the “wood wide web”.

These points are delivered in two ways within the documentary. One is a cinéma-vérité approach, with spare, dry objectivity that follows Wohlleben teaching others about trees and forests, whether with Korean touring groups or at slide-show talks. This alternates with North American mainstream-style segments, featuring visually rich, intimate cinematography paired with warmly voiced narration.

While the former requires arthouse-audience attentiveness, the latter provides greater accessibility, which is essential in helping Wohlleben connect with and reach a broader audience. However, the two styles don’t always sit cohesively together, particularly when it comes to pacing to allow for the absorption of information by viewers. Lulls in some places contrast with more densely packed facts in narrated segments—in both cases, it’s easy for some facts to slip by.

In particular, some points are only summarily touched upon and perhaps that because filmmaker Jörg Adolph has an ambitious scope of coverage to tackle, which includes jaunts to Sweden, Poland, and even Vancouver Island (including a clip of environmentalist David Suzuki taking a swipe at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) to cover international struggles to save forests.

All of this provides support for Wohlleben’s argument that the preservation of old and slow-growth forests is an unarguable necessity as we continue headlong into the climate crisis. The film—which won the Rob Stewart Eco Warrior Award at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival—also provides context and understanding for what is currently occurring (and has been for decades) in our own province, and can inspire viewers to venture further into finding out what other secrets that trees have to share.