Experiential cinema in its purest form, GUNDA chronicles the unfiltered lives of a mother pig, a flock of chickens, and a herd of cows with masterful intimacy. Using stark, transcendent black and white cinematography and the farm's ambient soundtrack, Master director Victor Kossakowsky invites the audience to slow down and experience life as his subjects do, taking in their world with a magical patience and an other worldly perspective. GUNDA asks us to meditate on the mystery of animal consciousness, and reckon with the role humanity plays in it. Executive produced by Joaquin Phoenix.
- Released: 2021-04-15
- Runtime: 93 minutes
- Genre: Documentaries
- Stars:
- Director: Viktor Kossakovsky
Comments
- lixy-41272 - 25 December 2021
Well done but disturbing and gave me a panic attack.
I'm sure many people would like this movie. It's incredibly aestetic, completely in black and white, and they are playing with light and contrasts beautifully.
I still have to say, I couldn't even finish it. I don't struggle with cruelty or anything usually, but I had to stop watching earlier, I had a panic attack while watching this movie, that huilt up in the moment where seemingly, the pig kills one of the children. I'm sure that didn't really happen, but it looks like it, and it's disturbing and disgusting.
I get that many will be able to watch this but why on earth do I not find trigger warnings anywhere? I almost passed out after watching the first maybe 45mins, I got anxious and panicked, and I am still disturbed.
I totally get the beauty people see in this, it's a documentary, it's reality, whatever, but atleast a warning...I really struggled from watching this. - csm-78119 - 27 June 2021
An impressive achievement
This is a superb piece of filmmaking that gives the viewer a real insight in to the lives of pigs and cows on higher welfare farms and of free to roam hens. No one who watches this film could doubt the sentience of its subjects or their individuality. The incredibly devoted mother pig at the centre of this film and a one legged hen are exhibits A and B in this regard. Sound is used to particularly good effect, both in the capture of the farm and country noises and in the complete absence of any commentary. The black and white footage adds to the beauty of the piece but I can't help thinking that the complete absence of colour ultimately detracts a little from an otherwise wholly authentic film. The film may not turn you into a vegetarian or a vegan but for me it surely supports an argument that particularly in the rich developed world all animals should be raised to at least "freedom food" standards and that its an indictment of modern society that some of the richest countries have the poorest animal welfare standards. - dennis-11345 - 13 December 2020
A Miracle of a Film
At first, we can't grasp what we are seeing, and it takes a while to sink in. Throughout the film, both beauty and reality will often rise up to temporarily disorient, take our breath away, and even overwhelm.
This is not your cute animal film, though it has that too. It's more akin to those moments of serenity and joy that can arise when we are watching babies move or small children explore. We feel both intimacy and otherness, and perhaps even bewilderment.
In my imagination it doesn't seem impossible that this film could be nominated for awards beyond Best Documentary. It would need its own version of Script Writing, Choreography, Directing, Editing, and Producing.
But the Cinematography! Obviously it's often spontaneous and even seat-of-the-pants. Somehow there is an endless outpouring of breath-taking photographic moments in high-resolution black and white. Will there be a picture book?
It's not that the shots are a miracle of technique; I'm sure they are. It's more how they touch such a wide range of feeling. A world is created and then ...
Like the beginning, the ending takes a while to sink in. Hushed. Eye and heart, conscience and consciousness, awakened.
