Leave No Trace: an amazing and sobering movie for the world of today

I guess I’m not the only one on this planet with an issue of running out of content on Netflix. Well, there’s still enough of it for me but not nearly enough for me and my wife if we decide to watch something together. Our tastes are quite different, so it’s a problem.

Yesterday she stopped scrolling when she saw „Leave no Trace“ thumbnail. — „How about this?“ — she asked annoyingly.
„Let me read…“ — I replied and patiently waited for her to press for more information.

Movie description said:
„A father and daughter living in content isolation find their lives — and bond –shaken when authorities move them back into society“.

„Well, under no other circumstance would I watch it, but I feel that right now is the perfect time to do it!“ — I shouted in excitement. And we went on to watch the movie that is ideal for the world in its current circumstance.

I’m talking, of course, about the recent events… About the release of Animal Crossing and the cruelty of Tom Nook to be precise. „Leave no Trace“ tells a sad, sad story of people that are looking for a way to enjoy their life on this planet without being pulled into the system of organized slavery.

I went through it all myself.

After getting a flight into an uninhabited Island, where I hoped to spend some quality time with my son, I ended up serving for the benefit of society. I was foolish enough to accept the first and innocent gift in the shape of a tent, that effectively placed me and my boy into the servitude of Tom Nook. We toil day and night just to return the debt, that keeps on pilling because Tom is a crook. „Would you like a house to keep your boy safe during the flea pandemic?“ — he asked me once. „That would be great“ — I didn’t reply but thought out loud. A grave mistake. A house was provided, debt generated, another part of an island stripped of trees completely just to cover a small fraction of it. Even now, while I write this, my boy is stockpiling fruit and clams to buy out our freedom. Worst part? I tried refusing Tom’s gifts and just do nothing. But my son quickly rebelled at this decision and our bond was shaken. Even after I explained to him the grave danger of having any sort of relationship with Tom, he insisted that we must maintain it. Because if I stop serving Tom, life on my Son’s Island stops completely. He becomes not only a prisoner of Toms but also a victim of my protest. I can’t do this to my child. I simply can’t.

„Leave no Trace“ is a movie about a Father that doesn’t make rookie mistakes. It’s about the hardships of a man and his child trying to avoid any kind of binding relationship. It’s a movie about the father that will refuse a gift of a tent in order to be free. Truly free. It’s a movie about the simple fact that true freedom is terrifying, boring, extremely difficult and Zen at the same time… Same as life on Nooks Islands if you dare to refuse the gift of a tent.