Blog #7 - Kestrel's Eye

After having finished the film, The Kestrel's Eye, I have mixed feelings about it. Once I forced myself to really focus and watch it, I did notice and appreciate certain things. For one, although maybe this wasn't the film-maker's intention, I really did notice some human characteristics in the family of kestrels. For one, they communicated with each other through a series of chirps and squawks. I don't think anyone can argue that the birds were not actually communicating with one another. It was obvious by the way they reacted and acted to each other's noises that these sounds had some kind of meaning to them. I also noticed the way the birds acted as a family unit. The two birds (mother and father?) took turns looking after the eggs and hunting for food. One thing I really liked in the film was the way they showed the kestrels "hovered" over their prey before catching it. Maybe that's weird, but I thought it was really cool to see them flying but staying in place. I hadn't been able to picture what a "hovering kestrel" was until that, and it was actually pretty amazing.

Although there were parts of the film I enjoyed, for the most part, I don't think it's the type of film I would recommend to someone else. I understand that it was an artsy film that wanted to make its points without some of the usual avenues (such as voice overs), but this made it incredibly difficult to pay attention to and really follow. I do understand that narration would have taken away from the overall feeling of the movie (the film was from the POV of the kestrels, any type of human intervention would have taken away from that), but that doesn't mean it was enjoyable. The constant noises - whether from the birds or from the humans that passed in and out of the frame - began ti give me a headache after awhile. Also, the chicks were very cute in my opinion, but once they got older and looked like full grown birds, it became very difficult for me to tell them apart from the parent birds. I was constantly trying to figure out if the mother kestrel was mixed in with the babies, and I could never tell.

So overall I wouldn't say I hated the film, but I wouldn't say I particularly enjoyed it either. I can't say it changed my view on birds in general or on kestrels. I found it to me minimally interesting, but mostly a little dull. I can see why some would really enjoy it and consider it a valuable film to watch, but it was just not my cup of tea.