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The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
various/05 - NR - 83m
Mark Bittner - Himself
Conner - Parrot
Mingus - Parrot
Director: Judy Irving
Studio: Pelican Media
Official
Website
JEF
This was just perfect timing for this movie. The week before I saw the trailer to this and made a mental note that this looked like a good movie, in the vain of “Winged Migration”. It turns out the movie opened on Mother’s Day weekend, so as a last minute idea; I offered to take my mother to this movie, as she is also a bird lover. What a great idea (if I do say so myself).
Storyline: A man named Mark Bittner who is a bit of an eccentric, decides to study a wild flock of parrots in his neighborhood. I’ve seen many write-ups who all pose Mark as being Homeless, but this is a little misleading, in that Mark has a home, he just doesn’t pay rent. (He explains this in the movie a little.) It would be better to describe him as jobless, thus giving him plenty of time to study and care for this wild flock of parrots. The documentary follows both the lives of the parrots and Mark himself as they have developed a symbiotic relationship.
This is one of those movies that I just love discovering. It’s off the beaten path, and if you mention the title to most people, they look at you with puzzled eyes. And the icing on the cake is when you take a gamble on one of these films, to have it be such a great film, makes it all the more special.
Ok, on the downside, the production levels are not that high… some grainy shots, some poor resolution or blurry shots. The sound levels were a little off at times, and some sounds seemed to be obviously dubbed in. BUT in spite of these negatives, it in no way detracts from the movie and it may even help the movie by giving it that rough indy edge.
Mark was fantastic as himself. This guy just seems like a friendly person, who if you met him on the street, he’d give you the shirt off his back if you asked. (Why you’d want his shirt, I don’t know, but I’m just sayin). His love for the birds comes across on the big screen due to the filming and editing by Judy Irving (who produced, directed, and edited).
I hope that by checking back on the official website (http://www.wildparrotsfilm.com/) that I will be able to keep tabs on these parrots, as I feel like I know them, thanks to this film.
I highly recommend this film to any animal/bird lover, and anyone who is looking for direction in their life. Mark’s story is an inspiration.
Jef
PS> Happy Mother’s Day Mom!
