For a brief period in 1921, DH Lawrence and his wife lived and traveled in Sardinia, Italy. Now, in 2014, Mark Cousins and his team have decided to retrace his steps. 6 Desires: DH Lawrence and Sardinia is one part documentary, one part travelogue, and one part love letter. Cousins directly addresses the English author as "Bert" as he narrates the majority of the film. This style of narration gives the film a more informal and personal feel. It's clear that Cousins respects and admires Lawrence to the point that he feels comfortable speaking to him in a familial tone.
The documentary takes advantage of both traditional and non-traditional methods. The film often uses recordings, voice-overs, and old films to add context and authenticity to what Lawrence was doing. Often, as an actor reads aloud something Lawrence wrote about the landscape, the filmmaker tries to mimic the shot in the modern landscape. Cousins physically places Lawrence in these different locales by inserting a printed and laminated photograph of Lawrence in front of the camera, as well as purposely getting his hand and wrist in the shot. There is truly a mix of styles "“ sometimes the shots look well produced, and sometimes they're shaky and could be coming from an iPhone.
Although non-traditional, the first 2/3 of 6 Desires was enthralling. The scenery was gorgeous, the towns picturesque, and the voiceovers calming and thoughtful. It sadly seemed to derail in the last third of the film. Suddenly there's a voiceover change and you slowly begin to realize that the footage is less and less about Lawrence. At only 85 minutes long, the last third made it feel eons long. You could easily call 6 Desires indulgent and pretentious because in fact it is, but sometimes that's a compliment.
