Review of Minimalism: A Documentary About The Important Things

Released in 2015, ‘MINIMALISM: A Documentary About the Important the Important Things’ is a feature length film directed by Matt D’Avella, a minimalist himself who, on his website, reveals his financial success is all due to leading a minimalist lifestyle.

Before we dive into the documentary itself, those who are unaware of minimalism may wonder what it is and why exactly does D’Avella think it’s so important? When some think of minimalism, the 60s/70s simplistic styles of art may spring to mind, and you’re not wrong. Minimalist design in the art world refers to “an extreme form of abstract art…composed of simple geometric shapes based on the square and the rectangle,” according to the Tate.

However, this is not the type of minimalism this documentary is talking about. Here, minimalism is an anti-consumerist lifestyle that has grown into a movement over the past few years. For a various number of reasons, more and more people are choosing to live a life with less – living with the most essential possessions. This kind of lifestyle is not new, Buddhists have preached for years about this, but over the past ten years or so it has become popular amongst millions of millennials worldwide.

‘MINIMALISM: A Documentary About the Important Things’ was released theatrically in May 2016 in the United States. For an hour and 18 minutes you follow the ‘Minimalists’ Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus promote the lifestyle with the help of their book, ‘Everything That Remains’. Netflix provides a short description saying it’s a film about “people dedicated to rejecting the American ideal that things bring happiness are interviewed in this documentary showing the virtues of less is more” which isn’t entirely false – but I was a bit underwhelmed with what could only seem as a ‘book tour’ around America.

“Imagine a life with less. Less stuff, less clutter, less stress, and debt and discontent. A life with fewer distractions” – Joshua Fields Millburn

The documentary starts off quite strong and the introduction really stuck with me. Journalist and author of ‘10% Happier’, Dan Harris, is praising his minimalistic lifestyle, when it suddenly cuts to a shot of manic shoppers swarming stores we’ve all probably seen each Black Friday. This alone would make any viewer consider minimalism and abandon this ‘buy buy buy’ culture we currently live in.

Less than ten minutes in and you’re being given a tour around one half of The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn’s apartment. As expected it’s bare – completely clutter free. When showing us his bed, table, chairs, lamp, guitar, limited wardrobe, kitchen appliances and just one issue of ‘The New Yorker’, he explains that everything he owns he has to justify to himself. He emphasises on the point of justifying things to himself and no one else.

Something which keeps on recurring throughout the documentary is how minimalism is a very personal journey, which is probably why a lot of those interviewed delve into their personal lives as a way to explaining, or maybe proving, how changing their lifestyle was for the better. For example, after Joshua shows us his empty LA apartment, he explains the loss of his mother and end of his marriage coupled with being miserable in a financially successful job was what led him to throw everything meaningless away.

A large chunk of the film are shots of Josh and Ryan’s seminars from their book tour, which provide an insight into what ‘Everything That Remains’ is all about, which would appeal to and inform those who are interested in observing a minimalistic lifestyle. As both Josh and Ryan are likeable and approachable, they make understanding the concept of minimalism effortless and enjoyable.

As well as following Josh and Ryan, the documentary hears from several academics. A particularly interesting one is Juliet Schor, a pHD economist and sociologist who blames advertising for polluting and infiltrating our culture. Another intriguing individual is Gale Steketee, a pHD compulsive hoarding expert, who passively says that she is: “not so sure that we have such a great relationship with things”, whilst two females fight over a few boxes like a pack of wolves. Yeah, me neither Gale.

Academia aside, it was thought-provoking hearing a perspective from inside the fashion industry when Shannon Whitehead, founder of Factory45. How many seasons do you dress for? Two... summer and winter, right? Maybe four at push if we’re counting spring and autumn. However, in the world of fashion there are a staggering 52 ‘cycles’ a year. With a new trend every week consumers are constantly in and out of trend, resulting in people buying more and Whitehead explains this well by going into further detail towards the end of the film.

Overall, this documentary is easy and enjoyable to watch, and you learn some interesting things along the way. If you're interested in living a minimalistic lifestyle, then watching D'Avella's film should be on your watch list. As there is a mixture of 'been there, done that' views, insights into the fashion industry and a balance of academic and journalistic opinion, there are lots of different and useful points of view.