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The
Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
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I was ready to resist the latest nature film, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, and its opening moments – shots of cute, colourful birds accompanied by bland music – almost sent me packing. However, the tone of an early scene in which amateur bird lover Mark Bittner is quizzed by a gruff observer began to set the film in a more interesting direction. Bittner, an eccentric but highly articulate and thoughtful character, has a fascinating history. His determined effort to live unostentatiously beyond social norms and definitions led him for a long time into a state of vagrant homelessness. A piece of advice from a poet – to "find nature where you are" – led him, serendipitously, into a close relationship with the wild parrots that live in the trees of San Francisco. No one quite knows how these birds came to be there – a humorous sequence outlines the various urban myths used to explain the phenomenon – but, in Bittner, they certainly found a loyal companion, doctor and feeder. Much of the film is devoted to observing the characters of these birds. There is a gruff one, a neurotic one, a cuddly couple. Lest we dismiss this as so much Disney-style "anthropomorphism", Bittner (in a very moving sequence) relates an experience with a dying bird which convinced him that animals have personalities and feelings. In a period when documentaries strain to be either story-driven or gimmicky, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is a refreshingly straightforward piece. Director Judy Irving worked with Michael Moore on Roger and Me (1991), but her intention here is to steer the material away from becoming a politically-conscious "message picture". Nonetheless, the environmental theme communicates itself in an effective, unforced way. Proudly declaring itself to be free of digital special effects, the film shows the virtues of a patient, unobtrusive filmmaking approach. The amount of time Irving gave to the project allows her to capture some remarkable shots of the parrots at key moments of their life cycle. It also allows a final, heart-warming twist that ends this modest but satisfying film on a perfect note. © Adrian Martin October 2005 |
