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Earth (2009)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
April 24th, 2009
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'Earth' captures the majesty and sophistication of the natural world like no film since Winged Migration; it is a stunning celebration of life and beauty, that instills within you an appreciation for our furry and feathered friends, many of whom face extinction because of deforestation, the gradual warming of the Arctic, and other ecological dilemmas.
This is a G-rated Disney production, perfect for the whole family; as a documentary, it is quite informative and educational, though the focus is more on the amazing imagery than anything else. I honestly do not know how directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield and cinematographers Richard Brooks Burton, Mike Holding, and Andrew Shillabeer managed to pull off some of these tracking shots, the expansive view of birds in graceful, synchronized flight, as the camera pulls back to reveal a flock that must number in the tens or hundreds of thousands (same with an enormous herd of caribou).
It is a study of animal behavior; we watch a mother polar bear with her two cubs, coming out of hibernation, a mother whale and her calf, swimming across half the globe, a distance of nearly 4000 miles to find food, elephants on a journey to find water, trekking across the deserts of Africa, cranes that escape the harsh winters of Mongolia by heading to India, which involves traveling over the Himalayas, adorable baby ducks making their first abortive flight attempt, jumping from a tree and plummeting to a soft mound of leaves below. There is the amusing, bizarre mating ritual of the Birds of Paradise in the rainforest, notably the Superb Bird of Paradise.
The frightful, predatory side of nature is shown, as well, with several notably intense, even suspenseful scenes; hungry wolves chasing caribou, and lions working together to bring down an adult elephant, sharks leaping out of the water to devour a seal (this occurs in slow motion). There is also a cheetah pouncing on an antelope, gazelle, or some other innocent, docile, herbivorous creature; thankfully, we do not see the creature get torn to bits, but its fate is obvious, once overpowered by the skillful, merciless feline. Remarkable use of time-lapse photography.
The narration is exquisite, perhaps some may find it too excessive, but how relaxing is it to listen to the rich, soothing voice of James Earl Jones; the British version of the film is narrated by Patrick Stewart. The narration is designed to present facts, and try to get inside the minds of the animals on display, to tell us what they might thinking, purely speculative, but entertaining, and at times, overly dramatic.
Like that polar bear that attacks a colony of walruses; he is starving, to be sure, and probably is desperate, which is why he goes after more dangerous prey than he otherwise would, though he is aiming for the walrus pups, and not their parents, who could seriously injure him with their large tusks. Still, who knows what the bear is actually thinking? Creatures of instinct do not have the luxury of rational, complex thinking. Evolution dictates that they do only what is necessary for their survival, or else they perish.
I will note happily that the movie opens with an brief explanation of something akin to the Big Bang Theory, which describes how the Earth is tilted on its axis, and how the Earth most likely came into existence in the first place. Creationists may not like this, but I would have been quite outraged if the first ten minutes or so had been wasted reciting the Book of Genesis, and asking us to marvel at the wonders of the world God supposedly created.
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 | James
May 22, 2009 9:50 PM
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| He-he... Who do you think made the Big Bang? =) |
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