Les saisons

"Seasons" (2015 release from France; 97 min.) is a nature documentary that looks at the rise (after the Ice Age) and fall (since the arrival of humans in particular as from the Middle Ages) of the deep forests in Europe. As the movie opens, we get a crash course in how forests grew and expanded in Europe following the 80,000 years of the Ice Age. It's not long before we settle in those deep forests and we get a glimpse and more as to what animal life was (is?) like in the forest. Deer, bison, wolves, owls, foxes, bears, spiders, horses, porcupines, birds of many kinds, all make their appearances.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from French director Jacques Perrin, best known for his previously acclaimed films "Winged Migration" and "Disney's Oceans". Here he goes in similar territory as in "Winged Migration", in fact there is footage in "Seasons" that follows birds migrating towards the Arctic Circle, and it's as if you are flying along, just unbelievable footage. The first hour of the documentary, focusing on "the golden age of the forest", is absolutely terrific. The footage on the ferocious fight between 2 bears is amazing, as is the chase of several horses by a wolf pack. Wow, just wow. The documentary loses steam when in the last half hour it goes political and addresses the effects of those bad humans on nature in general, and forests in particular. But in the end it's all about the amazing footage that Perrin and his crew were able to garner for this documentary. Please note that the title "Seasons" is a bit misleading as the movie really doesn't focus on the weather-related seasons.

"Seasons" opened last weekend without any pre-release fanfare or buzz at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. If it weren't for Perrin's name being on this, I doubt that I would've paid much attention to this. The Thursday evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great (maybe 10 people in the theater). This documentary is not earth-shattering or even all that revelatory, but I enjoyed it for the footage. Worth checking out if you get a chance, be it in the theater, on Amazon Instant Video or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

I watched this movie with my grandmother and she was entertained. So was I, but for different reasons. She enjoyed looking at cute animals, while I was bust being impressed at the amazing cinematography. The ways that the filmmakers managed to get all the shots that are in this movie is incredible. Yes, this movie doesn't have much structure other than that there are seasons, but it doesn't need any. If you're a fan of animals and spectacular cinematography, you're going to get a lot out of this move.

This is basically just a bunch of animals freaking out in the forest. And it's one of the most mesmerizing, fascinating, beautiful things you'll ever see.

Then humans come and mess it all up. But you already knew this.

But the way it's told is just gorgeous. Even the most ardent nature-hating right-winger wouldn't be able to argue with the arc of wildlife's struggle to survive in the wake of man as it's told here.

The footage in this film is breathtaking. You'll twist your brain trying to figure out how they got some of it. Mind-blowing. And gorgeous. Simply incredible.

Stunning and beautiful nature photography. If you keep one question playing in your mind throughout the film, you will be as much in awe as I was. The question: "How do they get footage like this"? One scene (of many) comes to mind: a pack of wolves unsuccessfully chase wild horses through the forest. The camera follows this high-speed chase at ground level through the trees as fast as these animals can run, all the while as though the camera were on a railroad track. I considered drones, but there is no way that the diverse wildlife would tolerate the noise and intrusion. So I'm left wondering, and in awe of the skills of these people. I'm sure you will be as appreciative as I am.

Look, I love nature documentaries, especially the ones from BBC, you can tell there's lots of work put into those productions to make them look the way they do. But then there's also productions like Seasons (2015), where you lean back and enjoy the scenery but soon realize that something's not completely right.

Adding people to this film, or rather actors, really rubbed me the wrong way. There's been good documentaries about humans and nature, like Human Planet (2011) - but here it became obvious pretty quick that there was a director behind the camera, directing not only the humans but also the animals in this film. And then to also try and make it historical with actors dressed like cavemen and farmers only made me squirm with embarrassment. I'm sure this would make a good film to show kids in school how life has been for animals through time, but as a film experience, I only felt awkward once it was over.

The photography and sound is great, amazing - no doubt about it, but it just doesn't matter when you feel that everything's staged, like when the text at the end shows up, that "No animals were harmed", you suddenly wondered why they even showed animals being killed by humans or died by gas. It's good that nobody was harmed or killed, but don't add it to the film at all if it's not real.

I saw this film back in 2015 when it was new and had given it a low rating without explanation, and I couldn't understand why, since I'd forgotten all about the film since. Re-watching it now after 5 years made me realize why, and with this review, I won't forget again.