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Winged Migration
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Movie Magic
Winged Migration
Rated G
2003, Sony Classics
X2: X-Men United
Rated PG-13
2003, Fox
Wonderment is the common goal shared by directors Jacques Perrin and Bryan Singer on their distinct features, the nature documentary, Winged Migration, and the superhero adventure, X2: X-Men United. At first glance, Perrin and Singer's films are worlds apart regarding genre and target audience. Yet, a shared artistic vision lies beneath the stories, one real life, the other pure fantasy. Both Perrin and Singer want audiences to experience the gravity-defying feeling of flight, whether on the tail feathers of a mallard duck or by the cape of a comic book heroine. The illusion of flying is a favorite dream, one that started long before the origin of cinema. Yet, more than any other medium, movies bring the experience of flying, whether by bird, plane or Superman, into arm's reach.
Perrin, who also produced the landmark insect documentary Microcosmos, spent four years filming the global flights of birds, from the arctic to the Manhattan skyline, in order to complete Winged Migration, and every minute spent was worth it. A documentary about the making of Winged Migration, the key bonus feature on the DVD, does not do justice to Perrin's unforgettable film, although it's fascinating to learn how he and his production crew followed the birds since their hatching in order to be accepted as surrogate parents.
More than its bird's-eye images, Winged Migration is an engrossing drama about endurance and the wonderment of living in the clouds.
An abundance of behind-the-scenes DVD features celebrate the special effects responsible for the X-Men's weightless heroics in X2, the recent sequel to the 2000 adventure, X-Men. The film's action plot traces the plot of a maniacal government official, William Stryker (Brian Cox), who's intent on wiping out all mutants, including the good guy X-Men -- Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry).
The elaborate fight scenes, especially an invisible attack on the President of the United States, deliver on their eye-popping promises. Yet, the youthful emotions displayed by these young superheroes, the petty jealousies and teenage rebellion, share the film's spotlight equally.
The film's best moment involves Rogue (Anna Paquin), an X-Man with the power to pull the life force of anyone she touches and the girlfriend of Bobby Drake (Shawn Ashmore), called the Iceman because of his ability to freeze things. They want to kiss and when they do, carefully, Rogue exhales an icy cloud of Bobby's breath. Action blockbusters rule present-day Hollywood, but few of them have stories as rich and humanistic as the one in X2.
Winged Migration grade: A
X2 grade: A
