An exalted view

By Marilyn Jones Senior Writer

"What if, for the space of a year ... abandoning our towns and our countryside, we went on a tour of the planet? What if we understood that our borders did not exist, that the earth is a one and only space, and what if we learned to be free as birds?"

These words by one of France's most respected film producers, jacques Perrin, frame the premise for his astonishingly beautiful new documentary, Winged Migration. With a crew of 450 people, taking four years and using such varied aircraft as helicopters, delta planes, balloons, and remote-controlled gliders that allow the camera to accompany birds from their takeoff to flying in the midst of formation flights, Perrin takes the viewer on a breathtaking tour of the earth seen from the perspective of birds in flight.

Following on a north/south axis the four main migratory flight routes of dozens of bird species, Perrir and his team accompany these birds literally across the globe. Seen from the perspective of the birds themselves, the earth becomes a palette so varied and amazing that it's as if the viewer is beholding a new world — and we begin to appreciate, perhaps more than ever, the infinite diversity and beauty of the planet.

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