Le peuple migrateur (2001)

Directors:

Jacques Perrin
Jacques Cluzaud (co-director)

Writers:

Jean Dorst (writer)
Stéphane Durand (writer)

Release Date:

12 December 2001 (Belgium)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Documentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents.

Plot Keywords:

Bird | Arctic | Flight | Migration | Ocean

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Philippe Labro	...	Narrator (English version)
Jacques Perrin	...	Narrator (voice)

Also Known As:

Winged Migration (Canada: English title) (festival title) (USA)
Il popolo migratore (Italy)
Nómadas del viento (Spain)
Nomaden der Lüfte (Germany)
Nomaden der Lüfte - Das Geheimnis der Zugvögel (Germany)
The Travelling Birds (International: English title)
Travelling Birds: An Adventure in Flight (Australia) (DVD title)

Runtime:

98 min | Canada:81 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:89 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

France | Italy | Germany | Spain | Switzerland

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-3 | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Denmark:A | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:G | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:G | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE

Filming Locations:

Abbaye, Mont Saint-Michel, Manche, France

Company:

Bac Films

Trivia:

When the crabs are seemingly devouring the injured bird, it is actually a dead fish that has washed up on the beach.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: The story of bird migration is the story of promise - a promise to return.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Weeds: You Can't Miss the Bear (#1.1)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Masters of the Field

Domestic Birds

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)