Narrator: Jacques Perrin
Director: Jacques Perrin
Producers: Jacques Perrin, Christophe Barratier
Screenplay: Stephane Durand, Jacques Perrin
Cinematography: Olli Barbé, Michel Benjamin, Sylvie Carcedo-Dreujou, Laurent Charbonnier, Luc Drion, Laurent Fleutot, Philippe Garguil, Dominique Gentil, Bernard Lutic, Thierry Machado, Stéphane Martin, Fabrice Moindrot, Ernst Sasse, Michel Terrasse, Thierry Thomas
Music: Bruno Coulais
U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Generally speaking, documentary viewers are divided into two categories: those who can't stand "nature" programs and those who love them. Considering the popularity of the Discovery Channel on television, the latter group is well populated. And, while Winged Migration is a significant cut above the average National Geographic Special (in terms of scope and cinematography), its appeal lies with the same core viewing audience. If you're fascinated (or just mildly curious) about birds and their habits, this is a must-see. If you don't care or bored by the subject matter, even the majesty of a film like Winged Migration may be unable to pique your interest.
This is a singular achievement – a documentary that took four years to produce using more than a dozen cinematographers filming on every continent of the planet. From Antarctica to the Arctic circle, Winged Migration follows dozens of species of birds as they make their annual trek from warmer climates to cooler ones and back again. The cameras capture nature in all of its grandeur (mighty glaciers collapsing into the seas, avalanches, and fierce storms), and the birds in all of their magnificence, whether it a single crane fishing for food or flocks of thousands rising up from the land and filling the sky.
To make Winged Migration, Jacques Perrin (one of the producers of the unforgettable Microcosmos) employed every tool at his disposal, sending cameras airborne in balloons and using lightweight, motorless planes so he could get bird's eye, "you are there" shots alongside a flock. Winged Migration gets closer to birds in flight than any previous cinematic outing has achieved.
The film moves along snappily, rarely pausing for more than a few minutes with any particular species, since there are so many places to visit and so many birds to talk about. The voiceover narration, delivered by Perrin with an obvious French accent, is bare-bones. In some ways, this is unfortunate, since numerous questions are left unanswered and many sequences could have benefited from some exposition. The sound is almost as impressive as the visuals, except that there are times when Perrin becomes overly enamored with the musical compositions of his collaborators when the cawing and trilling of his subjects would have been more compelling.
Winged Migration is a fascinating motion picture. It certainly isn't the ultimate documentary about birds and their migratory habits (any more than Microcosmos was the ultimate documentary about insects), but it's an excellent surface-level introduction that delivers some of the most amazing images of any movie in recent history. At its opening, Winged Migration informs us that no special effects were used in composing the film. It's good to know that, because some of the visuals offered by Winged Migration are more impressive than the most complex digital shot in The Matrix Reloaded.
© 2003 James Berardinelli