I just watched the most beautiful film and must recommend it. GUNDA is a documentary featuring a family of pigs, a group of cows, and chickens. There’s no narrative; the viewer simply watches the animals being themselves and living their lives. It’s shot in black and white, which to me gave it a very realistic feel. And most of it is filmed at the animals’ eye level, which brought me into their world and enabled me often to look right into their eyes.
It begins with Gunda, a pig, whose name means female warrior in German / Scandinavian, who has just given birth to a litter. My friend is a foster for a shelter and one of the cats she’s caring for just gave birth. Watching Gunda’s piglets suckle reminded me so much of the adorable baby kittens. They initially looked the same. Except they made much different noises! The film then moves to a group of chickens, and soon focuses on one who is one-legged. This chicken is rather fascinating as she manages to get everywhere she wants to go by hopping on that one leg. At points she gazes directly into the camera’s lens, and her eyes have so much to say. The film then moves to a group of cows and follows them for a while before returning to the pigs, who have become older.
I was most fascinated by the aforementioned chicken, and by one of Gunda’s piglets who decides he would rather venture off in a direction that’s not to her liking. She has to turn him around and nudge him back to the rest of the group with her snout. And of course I was fascinated by Gunda herself, whose eyes have so very much to say, especially in the final, heartbreaking sequence, which I won’t forget.
I highly recommend this movie for animal lovers. It’s showing in some theaters, including Film Forum, which is also for a limited time allowing audiences to stream via their website for a $12 donation. That’s where I watched. At the end, there is a wonderful discussion between director, Viktor Kossakovsky, and executive producer Joaquin Phoenix. Please watch! And when you do, please let us know what you think!
