Winged Migration (2003)

An odyssey over three years in the making, Winged Migration certainly is an amazing experience to behold. Its most impressive and moving achievement is its ability to draw the viewer into an almost foreign world, traveling along with a myriad of bird species as they undertake their semiannual migrations over vast distances. Just as MicroCosmos placed the viewer into an ant-sized world where blades of grass loomed like skyscrapers, Winged Migration offers the world through birds' eyes. We're on the ground with them as they interact, look for sustenance, and care for their young; and we're in the air with the birds as they dauntlessly fly high and low above the earth and sea. The film is also a tour of the globe that reveals gorgeous landscapes that most humans never get to see. One of the most unexpected delights of the film is listening to the many and varying voices of these creatures as they communicate with each other; it's almost like a music track all its own. As far as the actual music and score of the film, it is a mixed bag. Some musical choices interact nicely with the visuals, while many are overwrought and distracting. Usually the most effective moments are either without music or accompanied with minimalist compositions. The thrill of flying with the birds is countered with the depiction of the disasters and impediments that they face on a daily basis. Exhaustion, natural predators, hunters, broken wings, and human factory pollution are among the many obstacles that claim the lives of migrating birds; sometimes less than half of them actually make it to their destinations. One of the most jarring moments in the film is when a gunshot rings out and one of the birds goes limp and falls out of the sky, followed by several more of its companions. The shock of these deaths is joined with the slow realization that another bird is not going to make it out of the industrial waste near a factory, that a baby can be snatched and eaten right in front of its parents' eyes, and that a broken-winged bird is going to become the dinner for a horde of crabs. But these disturbing moments are infrequent, and the main focus of the film is to portray the grandeur of birds in general. Completely unlike the conventional nature documentary, Winged Migration is not about teaching cool facts about mating habits or details about one specific bird. Other than informing us of the distance and path of each bird's migration, there is little else offered to satiate our scientific curiosity. Although there are a few instances in which it would be nice to learn the reasons for certain actions of a bird or where the film cuts away from an enthralling interaction, Winged Migration keeps its focus broad. In this way, the film is very effective in creating an intimate, poetic portrait that conveys the majesty of all birds. ~ Dana Rowader, All Movie Guide