Susan Granger’s review of “Winged Migration” (Sony Pictures Classics)
A recent Oscar-nominee for Best Documentary, this is an astonishing exploration of the mystery of birds in flight and a plea for ecological awareness and responsibility. Director Jacques Perrin, best known for “Microcosmos” about the insect world, dispatched an international crew of more than 450 people – including 17 pilots and 14 cinematographers – to follow a variety of avian migrations through 40 countries on each of the seven continents over a period of four years. Utilizing planes, helicopters, gliders, balloons and ultra-light aircraft – but no special effects – his cameras follow alongside, above, below and in front of their subjects as they make their annual round-trips. In some cases, that journey covers more than 10,000 miles between the tropics and the Arctic. As the birds adjust to temperature changes, they apparently utilize some sort of instinctive radar, perhaps identifying landmarks – like the Eiffel Tower, Brooklyn Bridge, Arizona’s Monument Valley and Great Wall of China – on their perilous odyssey. Each species is briefly identified and the variety includes Canada geese, snow geese, greylag geese, egrets, macaws, puffins, sandhill cranes, European white storks, black-necked swans, pelicans, bald eagles, black-necked ibises, ducks, robins, albatrosses, Arctic terns and penguins. While the scenic photography is breath-taking and beautiful, as a narrator, Perrin comes up short on facts, figures and explanations. Admittedly, the taking off and landing scenes become a bit repetitive, along with the music of Bruno Coulais and vocals by Nick Cave, Robert Wyatt and a Bulgarian children’s choir. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Winged Migration” is a visually poetic, soaring 7. It’s particularly recommended for nature enthusiasts.
