This one is a bit of a weepy. I went in thinking it was about off grid living and homeschooling – raising children in nature – but it’s actually as much about grief.

Filmed over three years, we meet the Payne family living on a farm in Norway. Dad Nik is British but mum Maria is Norwegian, as are there four children Ronya, Freya, Falk and Ulv (or Wolfie). Maria is a photographer, filmmaker and nature lover and she and Nik have promised to raise their children ‘outside of the rat race’.

They have an idyllic life with camping, animals, homegrown vegetables and lots of love. But early in the film, Maria passes away and they are left not only with grief but also the impossibility of maintaining their lifestyle and homeschooling with only one parent.

It’s a well crafted narrative, fairly traditional in structure but with some exquisite imagery, intercut with Maria’s beautiful photography. It hits all the right beats, celebrating the heartfelt nature of Maria and Nik’s lifestyle whilst affirming Nik’s absolute commitment to good parenting. It’s the kind of documentary that will do well in the mainstream – it’s an SBS On Demand production.

It feels very intimate and you lose sight of the presence of the filmmakers. There were moments that I worried about whether the children’s lives and emotions were being exploited in someway – we see some very raw moments. I do wonder why Nik agreed to make the film. It’s of interest to us as prurient onlookers but what was the upside for his family? A celebration of Maria perhaps. I just hope this is something the children won’t grow up to resent.