Recently shown at the 2025 Dialogues Documentary Festival in Milwaukee, Folktales is directed by the Oscar-nominated duo of Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, best known for their film Jesus Camp, which followed an evangelical Christian church and its extreme teachings aimed at impressionable children.
Once again, the duo is centering their film on a private institution that aims to instill core values in youth and hears out the complicated experiences directly from active participants.
Their newest movie is all about a folk school in the Arctic Circle of Norway, which attempts to teach wayward individuals important traits, such as confidence and adaptability, during their gap year before starting college.
In the past, this team has not shied away from showcasing the uncomfortable sides of people and sparking a contentious debate.
Jesus Camp, their most famous work, created so much controversy that the camp featured in the documentary was forced to close down due to the vitriol and public outcry of their misguided practices.
This prior tenacity to demonstrate the complete truth of a distressing situation makes the fact that this piece plays everything so safe incredibly surprising and ultimately disappointing.
Folktales barely delves into the driving reasons that these admittedly mentally-struggling students chose to attend a secluded wilderness folk school and be removed from the rest of human civilization, rather than directly dealing with their problems back home, resulting in a visually stunning but hollow story.
The three main individuals highlighted across the entire narrative all deal with the overwhelming feelings of anxiety and depression in their own ways.
In turn, the chosen participants are having difficulty bonding with peers, in addition to not having a clear idea of where their fast-approaching adulthood is heading or what exact career to pursue in the near future.
Some of the attendees manage to overcome and seemingly conquer these nagging insecurities, such as coming across as too annoying or people-pleasing, by finding peace and contentment out in the cold climate with adorable sled dogs and beautiful starry nights.
On the other hand, one classmate continues to grapple with his confused and lost mindset to no avail, to the point I wanted to leap through the screen myself due to being so immensely frustrated with his self-destructive nature and shake this poor man to wake him out of his stupor.
As the unhelpful teacher and parental figures in his life continued failing him, his memorable subplot lacks any sense of concluding resolution and leaves a depressing pit that sticks in your stomach by the very end.
What could have provided interesting insight into this commonplace crisis among Generation Z, which is more isolated and apprehensive than ever, is bland and boring, just like the traditional Nordic food being served at the rural institution.
In truth, the picture has the same amount of vibrancy as the white snow falling throughout the harsh winter season and drags on for far too long, with an unnecessary extra half hour that could have been cut and not missed.
Though, what cannot be denied is the wonderfully shot cinematography, which could be used for a computer screen saver, that immerses audiences in the frosty yet ever-changing and cozy climate.
Admittedly, the creative team makes the prairie grasses seem palpably in reach, and the lonesome forests, with their creepy crawling branches, feel desperate to be explored and ventured into, never to return, even by those far flung across the world.
Despite coming across as clinical and sterile as a hospital room in terms of emotional complexity, Folktales is worth spending time on during an otherwise boring afternoon spent cooped up inside.
The audience does see from a different perspective regarding nature and a positive outlook on preparing to conquer challenges with an appropriate skillset, which is a definitely purposeful concept to contemplate in an age overconsumed with technology and social media.
Overall, Folktales is nothing offensive, which is almost worse than being contentious, having nothing meaningful to say in the long run, but will be assuredly aesthetically pleasing in the meantime.
Grade: C