212. Gunda; movie review

 

 

GUNDA

Cert PG

93 mins

BBFC advice: Contains upsetting scenes

Ninety minutes watching farmyard animals without a human in sight is an unlikely premise for a tearjerker.

However, I found myself welling up when a sow was left oinking in despair as the offspring, nurtured over weeks, are taken away, leaving her alone.

The first scenes of Viktor Kossakovsky's movie see the mother pig give birth to a dozen babies.

They emerge, eyes barely open but able to explore unsteadily before searching for a nourishing teet.

From the outset, we recognise that some piglets are born strong while there are also those who may not survive.

For example, we witness as one struggles to impose himself and is nudged away from potential food by hungry and unsympathetic siblings.

I found myself counting the drove over and over as the film progresses because I feared that there could be casualties.

I am sad to report the full complement did not make it.

The drama over the pigs is much more involving than I would have expected but I have to say I was less beguiled when the camera lingers over a coop of chickens and a herd of cows.

The difference here was that there were not such obvious personalities to lure me in.

Consequently, I have to admit that I dropped off for a couple of micro-sleeps. Yep, 90 minutes of watching farm animals might have touched my emotion a bit but the film was too long for my concentration to remain at its peak.

Ardent animal-lovers may well disagree,

Reasons to watch: The proof that animals do love

Reasons to avoid: The camera lingers too long

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? According to The Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy, pigs exhibit emotional contagion, a capacity thought to be the basis for empathy, or the ability to feel the emotional state of another.

The final word. Victor Kossakovsky: "It’s cinema. It’s just cinema. I can do something to make you see pigs in a way that would make you cry although you see pigs somewhere else in life." Filmint

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