In France, ZAD – “zone to defend” in English – refers to plots of land occupied by radical activists with the aim of blocking planned development projects. Formed in opposition to a governmental proposal for a new airport, the ZAD in the Notre-Dame-des-Landes region is the most famous example of this subversive practice. With sublime patience and care, Guillaume Cailleau and Ben Russell’s immersive documentary takes us into the day-to-day life of this extraordinary commune, where more than 150 people live, work and organise for change.

The popular image of the militant activist in mainstream media is generally reduced to one of joyless aggression and childish petulance; what makes Direct Action particularly invigorating is how it diverges from such sensationalist reporting. While the film briefly begins with videos of violent clashes between police and protesters, much of its 212-minute runtime is dedicated to the unseen pleasures and hardships of collective action. Rendered tactile on textured 16mm film, quotidian routines of kneading bread, cultivating vegetables or tool-making merge into a hypnotic stream of images. Labour emerges not merely as a chore but as the glue that holds the whole community together.

During these lengthy scenes, the camera rarely focuses on individual faces, lingering instead on the members’ hands as they work on their various tasks. Their actions are, in other words, the limbs of this collective body. This sense of togetherness is expressed aurally as well, with the sounds of manual work cohering into a choral hymn of resistance.

This utopia, however, is constantly under threat. When the storm of state brutality finally encroaches on to the screen, the ensuing rupture of calm is startling. The extended nature of the film thus becomes a message of hope; activism is powered, not by overnight victories, but by rituals that persevere against all odds.

• Direct Action is at the ICA, London, from 21 March