Kestrel’s Eye
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: B-
Are all
films on nature boring, give or take the ones that focus on the kill? Years ago, many fine such films were made,
but animals hunting other animals has become more common in a lame attempt to spruce
up their subject. A simple nature film
can still work, showing how beautiful other worlds can look. Kestrel’s
Eye (1999) offers such an opportunity, running a pleasant 86 minutes.
Kestrels
are European Falcons, which sounds like a football team, but these are the real
thing. The subjects of this film live in
a Swedish town, but more specifically, an old church tower. Mikael Kristersson managed to get permission
to shoot in previously restricted, if not the easiest to reach, areas. The result is a journey into the world of the
kind of species that seems to be disappearing all the time, a life and beauty
that took millions of years of evolution.
Capturing it on film here is nice.
There is no music, just the sound of nature.
Director/cinematographer/producer/editor
Kristersson shot the entire film over a few years, using four cameras, shooting
in the Super 16mm frame, which is 1.66 X 1.
That is the way it is presented her, though not anamorphic. It is, therefore, not as sharp as it could
be. Despite some softness, the detail
still manages to come through, if not consistently. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no surrounds
of any kind, but the stereo mix that is there is more distinctive than usual,
meaning the location sound was recorded with exceptional care. That sound of nature makes watching these
kinds of films more interesting than ever.
The only extras are trailers for other First Run DVD, and text info on
Kristersson (interview and biography items).
There is
not much else that can be said, except that it is a fine experience for the most
part and those who want to see it should.
Those who are not sure should see it once, because they will find the
plusses outweigh any doubts about problems or a typicalness from cable networks
devoted to such programming or even PBS.
That says something good about what Kristersson manages to pull off.
- Nicholas Sheffo
