40 Years of Complete Isolation
Since 1965, Faustino Barrientos has lived alone on the shores lake O'Higgins' in a house built from the remains of a shipwrecked fishing vessel.
He's a pastoralist, living mostly off the land and his livestock, with few modern amenities.
His nearest neighbors are in Villa O'Higgins, a small community of several hundred people, 25 miles away, accessible only by a two-day horseback ride through rugged mountain animal paths. Every few years, Faustino makes this ride to sell his cattle in town.
Currently 81 years old, Faustino is reaching the end of his life, and his self-imposed isolation is being encroached upon by the forces of government, economy, and tourism.
VICE went to document his lifestyle and speak with him about the changing face of Patagonia and the gaucho lifestyle.
Pro:
1) no drama/stress/slow pace living
2) no pollution/fresh air with scenery nature
3) no unhealthy eating /grass fed animal/red wine
Con:
1) no book/music/art/inspiration
2) no role model
3) no legacy leave behind ?
It is a beautiful place. I don't blame Faustino for having lived there all his life. He is more healthy than us people who are in the brink of political aspects, greediness, and a bad world. It is such a beautiful place to build a lovely cabin and come spend holidays away from the noise of the world.
For those of you who want to do this, go for it. You can get 20 acres in Alaska for about the price of a Honda Accord.
Good film, nice landscape, interesting, pleasant people.
the idea that anyone could try to criticize any one thing about this doc is very disturbing and reveals much about the degradation of humanity. i will post again after i observe the last 30 min.
Faustino... the real deal.
"water temperature is always -7 degrees celsius" ... not bad :p. anyway i'm impressed with his lifestyle, it takes a strong minded human to go through with all that and manage as well. Great doc as usual Vice.
What a guy....less is more. He doesn't need Obama care
I have a lot of respect and admiration for Faustino Barrientos.
Faustino was gracious and kind to his guest, despite the
condescending tone of the female narrator.
Señor Barrientos has lived his life his way and survived into his
80's. I think he's an amazing man.
He teaches us, that surviving with very little, making use of
what you have is possible.
This documentary was amazing. I kind of shed some tears at the end because I hate goodbyes, it's just so lonely and depressing.
Well, he's about to die and I hope he enjoyed his 40 years of loneliness.
He likes to talk and tell stories, he really loves someone's company.
t.t Farewell, grandpa...
Kurt is right. We live with so much, without ever believing that we need so little. Even if we took away almost everything we do on a daily basis (and use); every single one of us would need two earths just to survive. To bring that down to one... that is the real challenge.
well done, would be nice to see a folow up one day
He's lucky enough not to be enslaved to power structure bills like gas, electric, and gasoline and all that. To perhaps live life with creation & spiritually. Unlike how we survive the struggle of corruptness of a physical world as we are all controlled by it.
And so what?! We've all been isolated since the internet came along...
haha..he locks his door
A moving film. Faustino Barrientos is a very interesting man - it would have been nice to have learned a little more about him.
Her voice is annoying.
the title is mis leading. he in not in complete isolation! he gets his goods , he probably has been into town once and while, he is just a farmer living in the boonies, a hermit so to speak, plenty of these guys around.
still good story.
Better than expected... I particularly enjoyed "the waiting for something to happen" so when it didn't I wasn't even disappointed.
aww bless
Bless Him.
Amazing way of life. I do though,question why one might not be vegetarian. Cooking dried beans, lentils etc. could be an option, I'd say.
Super cheesy....That's just another day in the 3rd world,she hyped it all up like this guy had some special talent to stay alive..
couldnt really get into this i mean the guy has clothing and whine hows that isolation he just doesnt have hydro or a car like millions of poor people everywhere yet hes just fortunate not to live in a third world country and in a place where its possible to sustain himself off the land
blimey,they found biggles !