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 (041803)
Beautiful and revealing, the documentary Winged Migration begins by telling us
that no special effects were used to photograph the birds of the movie. Well, of
course, you think. It's a documentary. Why would anyone spend years following
birds around the planet and use special effects? Aren't nature movies supposed
to be natural, unencumbered by technological tricks? As you begin to lose
yourself in the movie, you'll understand why you need to know that Winged
Migration wasn't manufactured in a lab. Some of the images are so vivid, some of
its vantage points so striking that you wonder how such sights could have been
recorded by human eyes. Winged Migration, hardly a documentary in the ordinary
sense, makes us feel as if we're flying with flocks of birds that travel
enormous distances in the annual migrations on which their survival depends.
It may help situate this movie if you know that its director, Jacques Perrin,
made Microcosmos, which exposed us to the world of insects. This time, Perrin
interrupts his mysterious foray into bird life with title cards and tiny bits of
narrative. In truth, the movie - a photographic marvel that took three years to
film and involved 17 pilots and 14 cinematographers - could have used more
narration. Perrin, whose voice can be heard on the soundtrack, leaves us wanting
to know more. A small quibble.
Even so, the movie offers ample amounts of power, poetry and even humor. There's
also an underlying edge of realism. Being a bird is no picnic. These soaring
creatures face all manner of perils - fatigue during flights that can cover as
may as 10,000 miles, death at the hands of hunters, lethal encounters with
industrial waste and hardships caused by weather.
Perrin introduces us to a variety of birds: snow geese, bald eagles,
black-headed ibises, European white storks and more, but the movie isn't trying
to turn you into a highly informed bird watcher.
As was the case with Microcosmos, Perrin seems to want to expand consciousness,
to show us that we're only dimly aware of all that transpires above us. He
teaches us about great natural dramas that seldom (maybe never) cross our minds.
As the film unfolds, we become acutely aware of the flapping of wings, of the
lonely solitude of birds crossing vast stretches of ocean, unable to stop for
rest unless they happen upon a ship.
Migration never feels repetitive, it offers you the opportunity to immerse in a
world beyond your own.
The day after I saw the movie, I was looking at birds differently - or maybe I
was looking at them for the first time, marveling at their flight, fretting over
the dangers they face, suddenly aware of their short, sometimes harrowing,
amazingly determined lives. It is a rare thing when a film shows us imagery that
is both astonishing and ultimately enriching. There are moments here that I will
not soon forget. Winged Migration is on of the years best films. |
