Blog #7

The Kestrel's Eye was a very interesting movie. While I have never viewed a non-narrated movie, I felt that this documentary opened my eyes to the world of animals that often goes unseen. I found it so unique to see the world through the eyes of birds, viewing their challenges and their life milestones before humans. For example, while humans celebrated weddings, funerals and religious services within the church, the movie was focused on the birds actions on the church's roof during these human milestones.

I also found the director's constant clips of the humans actions within the movie to be quite funny. Throughout all the seasons, one could see the groundskeepers fighting Mother Nature to keep all the grave posts and plots pristine. From sweeping the snow covered walks to pruning away every weed, the human work seemed to be so tedious, while the birds went about their daily routine, gathering food and taking care of their chicks, without any wasted actions or needless work.

Lastly, the movie made me realize how much the natural world looks at humans, but how little humans look at the natural world. The birds seemed to be constantly viewing the landscape and the people around them going about all their normal tasks. I never though saw one human acknowledge the birds that were clearly with them everyday. Even the church workers did not pay heed to these constantly present creatures while they went about cleaning the grounds. While some parts of The Kestrel's Eye seemed tedious, I feel the director used this style to capture the simplicity of nature and some of the absurdities of human actions that seem so natural to everyone of us.