Gunda Review Movie
Gunda Review
The viewers who were touched by the relationship of Emma Pig and Greasy the rooster from John Chester's The Biggest Little Farm can embark on a brand new romance between the two with Viktor Kossakovsky's stunning documentary. It focuses mainly on an Norwegian sow called Gunda with her litter comprising twelve piglets, the monochrome film absolutely avoids anthropomorphism. However, this doesn't mean that there's any skipping those "aww adorable" scenes of the barnyard fun.
Eschewing the voiceover, Kossakovsky let nature's dictates take over, as Gunda has a baby in the opening of a sequence of leisurely long-shots that are filmed with skill and shrewdness by Director and cameraman Egil Larsen. His breathtaking visuals are complemented by Alexander Dudarev's dazzling sound design. Gunda is a resident of the Norwegian farm which is where the piglets growing are given plenty of room to roam around and engage in the scuffles before heading back to mom during mealtimes.
Kossakovsky does not give us the grisly details.
To convey the passing of time the film Kossakovsky cuts through the scene of a British poultry sanctuary as well as an Spanish animal sanctuary where the focus remains on the unhurried, intimate shots of the enchanting creatures playing with one another and their surroundings. Even as they grow older becoming more curious they don't want to get away to their mom, and she takes every opportunity to put her nose in the dry straw, or to luxuriate in a relaxing mud bath.
With all the rustic charm of the film anyone who's eaten a sausage roll or bacon butty ought to be aware of the way this movie is set to come to an end. However, the inclusion to vegan Joaquin Phoenix as executive producer gives a hint of the film's subtle advocacy element Kossakovsky omits the most gruesome details by confronting us with something more terrifying — the pain of a mother's separation from her children.
