Winged Migration

An absolutely breathtaking documentary whose close-up shots of birds in flight are so freakishly intimate that the film is compelled to open with the statement they're not special effects. First and foremost, it's an astonishing act of imaginative restoration, bringing the sheer wondrousness of everyday sights into sharp focus. Who hasn't seen a v-shaped wedge of geese flapping overhead, but who has seen them eye to eye? Second, the film represents a marshalling of personnel and resources, combined with extraordinary feats of skill, daring and organization. Between 1998 to 2001, director Jacques Perrin employed 450 people (including 14 cinematographers and 17 ...