Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World

Bestselling Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Mary Oliver was famously private; a loving look at her one wild and precious life sheds new light on her cherished work.

If a winner of major contemporary poetry awards were ever simultaneously a pop-cultural icon, Mary Oliver is it. Openly queer but fiercely private, Oliver – who died in 2019, aged 83 – was an American mystic, enamoured by the transcendental natural beauty she encountered on her daily walks through Provincetown’s woods and wilds. Influenced by Whitman, Thoreau, Keats and Emerson, and often compared with Dickinson and Rumi, Oliver’s celebrated nature poems have inspired ordinary folk for generations.

Now, in this documentary on the poet’s life, director Sasha Waters respectfully shows us the woman behind the words adored by millions, exploring Oliver’s lonely and sometimes traumatic childhood as well as her salvation: in love, in nature and in writing. Friends and admirers including Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, John Waters, Steve Buscemi and Helena Bonham Carter share memories and read favourite poems, while previously unseen photos, prose, essays and correspondence offer insights into Oliver’s inner world. Interspersed with stunning visuals of the landscapes that so inspired her, the film offers a tender, authentic and enlivening study of her life, loves and letters.

Content: Melbourne International Film Festival