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Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver, a quiet queer icon, captivated readers everywhere with her accessible celebration of nature, dogs, and life itself.(NR, 91 min.)
5:30 PM
5:00 PM
2:30 PM
7:00 PM
6:00 PM
If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Celebrated bestseller, Pulitzer Prize winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, openly queer but intensely private, Oliver was America's unlikely contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly 50 years in order to open herself – and her readers – to the known and unknowable world. From a lonely childhood to literary fame, Oliver's life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the long journey toward learning to love and to be loved. Her poems inspire liberals and conservatives, atheists and believers, naturalists and urbanites, speaking directly to contemporary anxieties about attention, presence, and the human relationship with the natural world – issues that feel especially pressing in an era of climate crisis, digital distraction, and social fragmentation.
Featuring interviews with her close friends, including John Waters, never-before-seen personal photos, notebooks, and correspondence from her archive, and recitations of her work by Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, Steve Buscemi, and Oprah Winfrey, Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World considers the poet's long lifetime of work in context, capturing the uniqueness of her world and the natural beauty that inspired her. [Kino Lorber]
Starring: Mary Oliver, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, Oprah Winfrey
Director: Sasha Waters
Genre: Biography, Documentary
"The documentary at once honours and explicates Mary Oliver's philosophy."
— Alisha Mughal, Exclaim!
"Oliver’s ability to summon emotions with words is uncanny. Waters’ documentary is proof."
— Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
"Sasha Waters’ lovely, understated film is a fitting tribute to a singular talent with an compelling legacy."
— Kim Hughes, Original Cin
"Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World is a documentary about a great poet that feels like a great poem."
— Odie Henderson, Boston Globe
"Ms. Waters’s documentary will set one pondering, then reaching for the bookshelf, or perhaps walking out into the woods."
— Zachary Barnes, Wall Street Journal
"Sasha Waters’ refined, loving portrait Is a short, sharp walk in the poet’s words as well as the Pulitzer winner’s eighty-three years."
— Ray Pride, Newcity
"Provides a comprehensive portrait that illustrates Oliver's artistic inspiration and creative process, and why she’s so revered among her contemporaries."
— Todd Jorgenson, Cinemalogue
"Sasha Waters’ inspiring documentary keeps the viewer engaged with candid footage of 'Mary in the wild,' surrounded by the beauty of nature that inspired her work."
— Joe Friar, Fort Worth Report
"This extensive documentary sheds light on how beautiful, honest and wise Mary Oliver’s poems are by letting them breathe and inviting appreciators to rejoice in them."
— Charles Johnston, Spectrum Culture
"Waters breezes by some of the more interesting and tantalizing stuff, but few films offer such a deep appreciation for the art, function, and meaning of poetry that this one does."
— Andrew Parker, The Gate
"Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World gives viewers a very clear and generous opportunity: to discover her poems for themselves — perhaps the poem they need."
— Jefferson Everest Crawford, In Review Online
"An entertaining bio-doc that puts due emphasis on Oliver’s writing, in all its elegant and empathetic simplicity….makes an affecting case for her work and gives us a vivid look at her world."
— Wall Street Journal
"Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World is a documentary that gives us a window into an artist that became singular in her field without ever compromising who she was as a person."
— Zach Youngs, InSession Film
"A compelling bio doc about the life and loves of the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning queer poet. Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Stephen Colbert, John Waters and Oprah Winfrey read their favorite Oliver poems."
— Jennifer Merin, AWFJ.org
"In an era when arts and humanities are on the back foot, Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World shows the power of literature and nature to save our souls, one grasshopper, one great love, one poem at a time."
— Thelma Adams, AARP Movies for Grownups
"Waters's film seeks to explain why Oliver's poetry means so much to so many people... making space for audiences to have their own experiences with her poems. Tidbits of these have become almost aphoristic, but the fuller context a film like this brings can result in more appreciation, for new readers and longtime fans alike."
— The New York Times
