Presence for the Senses.

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"Untitled" (Mont Saint-Michel) © Flavio Martín Morante_2008

This week Terrence Malick is releasing his new movie called "To the Wonder" which explores the subjects of love and faith. As most of Malick's movies I like (The Thin Red Line, The New World, Days of Heaven, etc) this one promises based on what I saw on the preview to be a feast for the eyes.

As it happens to be, the preview opens up with scenes that show Mont Saint-Michel in France, which according to what I read about the movie has something to do with the story. I will be seeing the movie soon to find out. In any case, to see the monastery on those images brought really good memories from the time Dawn and I spent there five years ago, reason why I pulled out of the box some pictures that like a nice bottle of wine do carry nice flavors when open after while.

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"Untitled" (Mont Saint-Michel) © Flavio Martín Morante_2008

Despite of not being a religious person I have to confess that the fortunate times I had the chance to visit the "Old World", churches, monasteries and cemeteries are some of the places that wake up my deepest fascination. In many of those cases it has to do with the beauty of it, in many others it has to do with the acknowledgment of the time in which these constructions were made, lacking any type of modern technology, or the simple fact of standing witnesses trough history of the best and worst times of humanity.

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"Untitled" (Mont Saint-Michel) © Flavio Martín Morante_2008

In the case of Mont Saint-Michel, many things captivate me from the first time we saw it with Dawn from the road we drove to it. First it was the first time I was seeing and eventually standing and walking on a man made structure/construction older than anything I have seen or stood before (counting Uruguayan and United States recent history) with an approximated count of 1300 years. It is hard to explain in words what do you feel when you walk on a place with that stamp on it. Each wall embraces you with a presence that hits your senses and your mind in a pleasant intoxicating way.

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"Untitled" (Mont Saint-Michel) © Flavio Martín Morante_2008

Added to all the architectural, cultural and historical fact about the abbey, the place has another particularity regarding its geographical location. Since it was constructed on what it is considered a tidal island it gets surrounded by water at different times during the day, something that sadly I was not able to see personally except for postcards that are sold on the many gifts shops that flood the little alleys that climb the monastery. Still, what I did see and found fascinating is the surreal landscape (and feeling) created by the lack of water, as you are able to walk around the area at your own caution, watching the tide sirens hoping they do not go off while you are walking in the middle of the sand as I did for a good period of time contemplating what in some moments it felt as if I was walking on another planet.

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"Untitled" (Mont Saint-Michel) Looking North-West

© Flavio Martín Morante_2008

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"Untitled" (Mont Saint-Michel) Looking South-East

© Flavio Martín Morante_2008