Review – Winged Migration

One and for all I’d like someone who makes wildlife documentaries to explain the compulsion among such people to portray their subjects dying violently. This unsavory element is particularly intrusive in this production. I found myself absolutely entranced by the footage of migratory birds (mostly geese) flying across breathtaking landscapes. The camerawork alone is enough to guarantee that you’ll never look at birds the same way again. But then bang! Out of nowhere we’ve got hunters killing the birds in midair. Then a goose dying in an oil slick. Then a smaller bird with a broken wing being killed and eaten by crabs. Then a baby penguin being killed by another bird. What makes matters even worse is that some of the close-ups of the birds were achieved by imprinting young geese so they’d trust the film-makers, trust that was evidently betrayed when the hunting shots were set up. As a result I seriously dispute the movie’s G rating. Further, this is the first time in my movie-reviewing career that a film has gone from four stars to two (and flirted with one) as rapidly as this one did. And that’s a real shame, because if the grim death was removed this would be a spellbinding masterpiece of cinematography not to mention a decent documentary. Mildly amusing