Nomaden der Lüfte - Das Geheimnis der Zugvögel

When documentaries fail to show humans and human events it's almost enough to put the audience to sleep by default (except of course, those who get excited at the mere suggestion of shows like "Nova" or educational programmes sponsored by the Mutual of Omaha).

WINGED MIGRATION doesn't essentially need or looks to inform us what we probably know already: that birds migrate, and in doing so, ensure their own species. But what it does show us is a continuous yet striking montage of birds of different species flying among oceans, mountains, skies, land... we see them through their points of view, while throughout there is the barest suggestion of a plot here and there as inevitably one bird either gets lost in flight, lands in a ship, gets caught in toxic waste (of which it may not escape alive as the others, obeying that instinctual law of moving on, depart), gets disoriented and injured and becomes food for hungry crabs, or even captured by humans to become pets. Beautiful, sometimes moving images that shows us a quiet cycle of life, death, and reproduction, which will stay with the viewer long after the credits have rolled.

Forget `Ode to a Skylark.' `Winged Migration' - adhering to the proposition that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words - offers a soaring, visually astonishing tribute to all the cranes, geese, swans and assorted other birds that have, since time immemorial, made long and dangerous airborne treks from one corner of the globe to another. Like no nature special you've ever seen, directors Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats and Jacques Perrin and no fewer than fifteen credited cinematographers create a visual poem to these feathered marvels by taking us right into the thick of the action, somehow managing to get their cameras to fly, in beautifully coordinated fashion, right alongside the birds at amazing speeds and altitudes. Seeing is believing in the case of this film, and even after seeing it, you still may not believe it. That's how eye-popping and visually dazzling an experience this film is.

With only minimal narration (some of it spoken and some of it subtitled), the filmmakers provide some helpful information regarding the particular species we are seeing and its migratory patterns. But the film is far more of an aesthetic visual experience than an educational one. For long stretches of the movie, the birds merely fly along in majestic silence or backed up by haunting symphonic mood music (much of it reminiscent of the work in `Koyaanisqatsi').

In addition to the birds themselves and their amazing feats, the cinematography captures, with blindingly crystal clarity, the awesome beauty of the various landscapes through which these extraordinary creatures travel (there's even a shot of the birds flying past the Twin Towers). Watching this film is truly like being transported to another world. Nature has probably never looked this good on film.

A film that's difficult to classify: part nature film, part documentary, part drama. And *completely* beautiful. The makers of this film used every imaginable flying and suspending machine in order to film birds wherever they went. From ultra-light planes to hot air balloons, to hang gliders the camera operators managed to capture what must be the most amazing shots of flying ever filmed. The crew travelled the world to follow birds in migration (and some in their native habitat).

My kids (ages 11 to 15) were transfixed.

To those who say this film lacks "action", I can only express my deep regret that they are so earth-bound as to be unable to let go and soar with some of nature's most wonderful creatures.

Here is a beautifully-filmed documentary on the migration of birds. This movie took four years to make, and one can see why. You cannot get much closer, I would think, to the flying birds than what you see here. Cameras were literally attached to some of the birds so you, the viewer, are up there in the sky right with these (mainly) geese as they migrant thousands of miles.

The colors are beautiful and the sound is good. However, be warned there is no dialog so it can be tough viewing the whole 90 minutes in one sitting. Also, I found the best and most interesting footage at the beginning.

Nevertheless, this is a good addition to anyone's collection if or no other reason than the magnificent photography and the effort filmmakers put out to make this wildlife documentary. It also is interesting how they show different species every few minutes, where they go each year, how many miles they travel, the exact route, etc. Wildlife and bird-lovers in particular, should love this film.

I was quite pleased with this movie until I watched the "behind the scenes" featurette on the DVD. It turns out that most of the extraordinary close-ups of winged flight that make the movie memorable are NOT of wild migrating birds. Rather, the filmakers raised and domesticated all sorts of birds through a process known as "imprinting" so they would be comfortable flying next to the noisy photography planes. Then they took their birds all over the world to dramatic backdrops like the Sahara and Monument Vally. They also used these domesticated birds for the dramatic set pieces revolving around birds trapped in sludge, stuck in a blizzard, escaping cages, or wandering the desert. Not only are these set pieces heavy-handed and overly dramatic, but the fact that the birds are not even wild and were placed in these situations really undermines the credibility of the film.

7 out of 10 (minus 1 point for the use of domesticated birds and minus 2 for putting ridiculously staged drama scenes in an otherwise beautiful nature film)