As someone who grew up on the countryside: many people don't really know how dark it can get outside, as you mentioned your eyes do adjust, but that will only take you so far. I remember walking home on a cloudy new moon night through the woods with both eyes fully opened and adjusted and I couldn't even make out the contour of the sky.
So yeah, not seeing shit can be natural. Whether it is good for the narration or 100% of your viewers like it is a different can of worms. Let's only say that the cinematographers thought making the viewer have to concentrate on what is going on at that point was benefitial.
The "natural" part about shooting digitally is that you can go outside and use a camera in dusk and the picture isn't all black or incredibly grainy as it was back when you shot at film. And that's about it. In digital you can shoot with available light only in more situations than before. In the end cameras perceive light situations different than the human eye so it is still the task of the cinematographer to do that translation.
So yeah, not seeing shit can be natural. Whether it is good for the narration or 100% of your viewers like it is a different can of worms. Let's only say that the cinematographers thought making the viewer have to concentrate on what is going on at that point was benefitial.
The "natural" part about shooting digitally is that you can go outside and use a camera in dusk and the picture isn't all black or incredibly grainy as it was back when you shot at film. And that's about it. In digital you can shoot with available light only in more situations than before. In the end cameras perceive light situations different than the human eye so it is still the task of the cinematographer to do that translation.