Well Ordered Nature

A tender film, despite the fact that it speaks of how people were moulded into useful citizens during the second half of the eighteenth century, the time of the Enlightenment. This occurs in two ways. The “Dillenburg Intelligencer”, mouthpiece of the Hague-based Prince of Orange, ruler of the town, passes a degree to prohibit customary activities like begging and collecting wood from the royal forest. At the same time, the unmarried Ms. Dörrien, whose publications and letters advise women to make the most of their time and manage it wisely, tries to influence her readers with advice on how to perfect themselves through patience and diligence. She has also distinguished herself as a botanist by drawing and colouring plants and, in particular, by describing her learning processes to this end. The beauty and elegance of her language, an expression of her devotion to people and things, is a real discovery! We see today’s Dillenburg, teenagers, little games. But mostly we see flowers, their absolute beauty and dignity. Known as an experimental filmmaker, Eva Heldmann constructed this essay film with rigour – in the images of flowers, freedom breaks through. (Berlinale)