Birds of Passage (film)

Birds of Passage
Poster
Directed by Cristina Gallego
Ciro Guerra
Produced by Cristina Gallego
Katrin Pors
Screenplay by Maria Camila Arias
Jacques Toulemonde Vidal
Starring Carmina Martínez
Natalia Reyes
José Acosta
Music by Leonardo Heiblum
Cinematography David Gallego
Edited by Miguel Schverdfinger
Production
company
Snowglobe
Blond Indian Films
Ciudad Lunar Producciones
Pimienta Films
Release date
  • 9 May 2018 (2018-05-09) (Cannes)
  • 2 August 2018 (2018-08-02) (Colombia)
Running time
 125 minutes
Country Colombia
Denmark
Mexico
Germany
Language Spanish
Wayuu
Box office $832,695 (COP 2,529,644,141)[1]

Birds of Passage (Spanish: Pájaros de verano) is a 2018 crime film directed by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra. It was selected to open the 50th edition of the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.[2][3] It was selected as the Colombian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.[4][5]

Plot synopsis

The film chronicles a Wayuu family's rise and fall during the early days of illegal drug trading in Colombia.[3] Spanning the late 60s and 70s, the film is divided into five chapters ("cantos"): Wild Grass, The Graves, Prosperity, The War and Limbo.[6]

Cast

  • Carmina Martínez as Úrsula
  • Natalia Reyes as Zaida
  • José Acosta as Rapayet

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95%, based on 19 reviews with an average rating of 7.9/10.[7] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]

Some critics have compared it favourably to other crime saga films like The Godfather, Scarface and the television series The Sopranos. Indiewire's Eric Kohn awarded the film a B+ rating, calling it "another fascinating tone poem about Colombia’s fractured identity".[9] Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian gave a positive review of the film, writing "in the most reductive way, it is another mafia story. But as with their previous film (Embrace of the Serpent), it is the specificity that counts, and while certain genre tendencies prevent the narrative from truly unmooring, hardly a scene goes by without something fundamentally familiar being rendered in a unique fashion".[10] Variety's Peter Debruge wrote that "few films have captured quite so powerfully the tension between the old and new worlds — a feat “Birds of Passage” accomplishes while simultaneously allowing audiences to channel the Wayuu’s surrealistic view of their surroundings, where spirits walk the earth, and wise women interpret their dreams".[11] Jessica Kiang of The Playlist stated the film was "wildly alive, yet it reminds us that no matter how modern we are, there are ancient songs our forebears knew whose melodies still rush in our blood". About the Wayuu people depicted here she wrote: "the Wayuu here are neither exploited innocents nor backward savages, but flawed humans indulging recognisable human instincts of greed and rapaciousness... You do not have to have Wayuu ancestry, or any connection to the region to understand the broader implications of this epic story of haunted druglords and ruthless power grabs that are partly predicated on traditional beliefs and shibboleths".[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Birds of Passage (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (17 April 2018). "Cannes: Directors' Fortnight unveils 2018 line-up". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 Keslassy, Elsa (17 April 2018). "Cannes: Directors' Fortnight Lineup Boasts Colombia's 'Birds of Passage,' Nicolas Cage in 'Mandy'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "Colombia eligió las películas que representarán al país en los premios 'Goya' y 'Oscar'". El Heraldo. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Erbland, Kate (29 August 2018). "'Birds of Passage': Colombia Selects Cannes Breakout as Foreign Language Film Submission — Exclusive". IndieWire. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 Jessica Kiang (23 May 2018). "Ciro Guerra & Christina Gallego's 'Birds Of Passage' Is A Colombian Crime Saga Masterpiece [Cannes Review]". The Playlist.
  7. ↑ "Birds of Passage (Pájaros de verano) (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Birds of Passage Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  9. ↑ Eric Kohn (9 May 2018). "'Birds of Passage' Review: A Violent Crime Saga in the Desert from the Director of 'Embrace of the Serpent' — Cannes 2018". Indiewire.
  10. ↑ Jordan Hoffman (9 May 2018). "Birds of Passage review – Ciro Guerra takes the mob epic to tribal Colombia". The Guardian.
  11. ↑ Peter Debruge (9 May 2018). "Film Review: 'Birds of Passage'". Variety.
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