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WINGED MIGRATION Send This Review to a Friend
This unique and extraordinarily beautiful film tracking the migration of birds throughout the world was an Oscar nominee in the documentary category, but lost to "Bowling for Columbine." Now you can get a chance to see "Winged Migration" in theaters and you are in for a rare experience. Writer, producer and co-director Jacques Perrin, who also does the film's minimal narration, has created something special in this lovely film that takes us into the air flying along with various species of birds, photographically captured in their magnificent colors and plumage.
The credits acknowledge bird training centers, which would indicate that some of the birds we see have been trained, and it has also been reported that trained birds were used to lure wild birds. Trained or wild, the importance for the viewer is the unusual experience of being able to see the birds in flight in the various formations and in close-up. The result is sheer beauty and a film that stands out as extremely special.
The film was made over a four-year period, and there were five crews totaling more than 450 members, including 14 cinematographers and 17 pilots, with considerable ingenuity in the filming process. In order to get close to the birds gliders, balloons and helicopters in addition to regular planes were used. A special ultra-light plane accommodated only a pilot and photographer, and there were also assorted types of special cameras.
Perrin keeps the narration spare. The birds are identified, as are the regions in which they fly and the astonishing amount of mileage they cover in their migrations. That leaves us free to just marvel at the extraordinary sights, the photographic accomplishments and, above all, the wonders of nature. A Sony Pictures Classics release.
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