The Meaning of Vanlife

It gives a nice insight to the Vanlife. It's a calming, and nice documentary that isn't political. It's inspiring because it shows only the positive side of Vanlife.

It was a surface Story that everyone is already aware of! It had the time to tell the gritty parts of vanlife also but failed to deliver. Also there was way too much interviewing with a load of people who had all only been on the road for more or less the same amount of years...1-4 years. Consquently there was no insight from older vetrans into how the life had changed/progressed/faltered etc. In the early days many people hit the road for various reasons i.e. Hated the way the world was, liked a freedom of life, spiritual reasons, to escape the corruption of society cruelty and greed etc.

I felt all the newbies were opting out for more or less the same reason; unable to cope any longer with the slave labour, workaholic attitude of the planet.

Still! It was a relaxed drive of entertainment that could have been 10 times better if it had told the cuts and bruises side of the life also.

My title sums it up. A lot of hippie philosophy which I am not against and some of it may be genuine, but it's hard to take what you see at face value as it appears most of the people highlighted make money through social media, not exactly known for portraying life unfiltered. Some pretty scenery and some interesting characters, but there's not much to keep one interested for the entire film. It's pretty much just a homogeneous, long winded praise of vanlife. Like my review so that I can get to the minimum number of characters, they felt they had to go 90 minutes to make a full length movie, but they didn't have that much substance.

Ponderous and sometimes aimless (much like some of its subject matters, who make for nevertheless entertaining companions), The Meaning of Vanlife beautifully captures the lives of a growing community of young and old that have decided they are going to live life a little differently to what the perceived normal way of doing things are, by setting up a nomadic lifestyle of themselves and their vans on the open road, a road that could lead anywhere, at any time.

It's a fascinating worldwide movement that is undeniably growing in momentum into more mainstream culture and acceptance and documentary filmmaker Jim Lounsbury (with help from Australian cinematographer Anthony Jennings) helps bring this community to life and into the spotlight with this flighty but well-intentioned feature that may just make you pack your bags and hit the road with its eye-watering locations and communal vibe more than slightly appealing.

Working in conjunction with Australian's and coordinators of online social media sensation Vanlife Diaries (that now features over 500,000 on social media platforms) Jonny Dustow and Jared Campbell, Lounsbury is given behind the scenes access to this open and welcoming community as he traverses the beautiful seaside clad surrounds of the Australian coastline right through to the stunning American locales where Dustow and Campbell head to to meet up with the many American van-lifers that now exist.

Lounsbury has created the type of documentary that feels like a polished and well-documented home movie as his film refuses to follow any real path or guideline, instead going where the vans go, meeting the people who pop-up within the community and exploring without too much of a firm intent the reasoning behind why many have chosen to enter into this community and shy away from the "social norms" that have previously been placed upon them.

Many, may without much knowledge or information dismiss this community or movement as a hipster fad or perhaps even assume it's those with no other alternative that would choose this lifestyle but Vanlife showcases that this is most definitely not the case and makes for a well-rounded showcase of how many just want to try new things, live a life more abundant and genuinely be in touch with themselves in a deeper way, away from the grindy nature that can often exist in our modern societies.

Final Say -

This is not a documentary of revelations or mind-blowing examinations, more so a quietly observed and beautifully shot look into a lifestyle many would sadly dismiss in their ignorance. The Meaning of Vanlife is an easy to enjoy and unique feature that could just inspire viewers to take the leap in trying something new and fresh, outside of the normalities society have placed before us.

3 cold water streams out of 5.

I expected it to be more interesting than it actually was. It mostly focused on the daily nitty-gritty of living the van lifestyle, but there were many mundane aspects of it which made the film boring.

The movie did touch on on the more interesting parts of the lifestyle, like the connection to nature and the harmony these people find in wandering, and the community these people feel with each other, but those things were shown only on the surface, without going into too much detail. Even though that is the aspect of vanlife the filmmakers should have mined because that is the true reason to embark on this lifestyle, but they didn't show much of it.

In it's current form, the film is not very satisfying and it gives a slanted view of the lifestyle, ignoring all the negative aspects of it.