{"id":21969,"date":"2015-11-12T10:20:34","date_gmt":"2015-11-12T15:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=21969"},"modified":"2015-11-12T12:07:28","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T17:07:28","slug":"the-messenger-our-movie-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/the-messenger-our-movie-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Messenger: Our Movie Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Messenger-Poster.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Messenger-Poster.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Messenger-Poster-480x699.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"The Messenger film poster\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption><\/figcaption>\n              <\/figure><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" id=\"hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]--><a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3.png\"  alt=\"New self-paced course: Learn How to Identify Bird Songs, Click to Learn More\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(95627, 'a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3', {}); <\/script><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n<!--<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">\r\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" id=\"hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">-->\r\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\r\n        <!--<a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\"  target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd.png\"  alt=\"Join the Cornell Lab\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\r\n    <\/span>\r\n    <script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script>\r\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n        hbspt.cta.load(95627, '394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd', {});\r\n    <\/script>\r\n<\/span>-->\r\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Prepare to be transfixed by the opening shot in <em><a href=\"http:\/\/songbirdsos.com\/about\/messenger\/\">The Messenger<\/a><\/em>, a new documentary about songbird declines. A Black-throated Blue Warbler, closer than you\u2019ve ever seen one, flies in slow motion against a black background. Slo-mo can make anything look graceful\u00a0(even creatures as clumsy as\u00a0Hollywood actors)\u00a0so just imagine what it does for a warbler in full breeding glory. It\u2019s the most beautiful footage of a bird in flight I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n<p>The filmmakers are not stingy with it, either\u2014similar shots crop up throughout the film, like palate cleansers between longer scenes. You\u2019ll see Baltimore Orioles, Indigo Buntings, a group of Magnolia Warblers, a catbird, a robin against the moon, and more. They\u2019re reminders of the film&#8217;s premise: that songbirds travel across the globe, carrying messages about environmental health.<\/p>\n<p>Songbird populations have been declining for decades\u2014a fact bird watchers are aware of and the general public is catching onto, thanks to programs like the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov\/bbs\/specl14.html\">North American Breeding Bird Survey<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/\">State of the Birds<\/a> report. But the question of why they are declining is harder to answer clearly.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s the challenge <em>The Messenger<\/em> takes up, and its answer is to proceed slowly\u2014and beautifully\u2014through the major issues. It&#8217;s a refreshing approach to environmental filmmaking: a 90-minute film that forgoes ominous voiceover in favor of well-spoken scientists juxtaposed with beautiful cinematography.<\/p>\n<p>The film&#8217;s longer segments\u00a0travel the globe to look into causes of songbird decline, including window collisions, domestic cats, songbird poaching, habitat fragmentation, and a fascinating look at the emerging problem of neonicotinoid pesticides. It traces the migratory routes of Purple Martins and listens to the night sky with Andrew Farnsworth, a\u00a0Cornell Lab researcher. And it takes a few fanciful excursions: a German DJ who leads bird walks and mixes bird song into techno music; and the cautionary tale of Chairman Mao\u2019s disastrous \u201cfour pests\u201d program.<\/p>\n<p>The pacing of this film is unique and unhurried. Many of the film\u2019s 13 distinct chapters will work equally well as standalone classroom tools. Viewed in one sitting, the film doesn\u2019t have a narrative arc so much as it builds toward a plaintive understanding of the adversities that songbirds face.<\/p>\n<p>In an oasis in Turkey, Cagan Sekercioglu discusses the importance of migratory stopover sites to hoopoes, shrikes, storks, and other species. In Islam, he says, the hoopoe is the bird that carries missives from the heavens to the people. The film broadens this idea to something all birds do.<\/p>\n<p>The one thing that\u2019s intentionally missing from <em>The Messenger<\/em> is any discussion of ways to fix the damage. It\u2019s as if to say, that part is too much for a hoopoe or a warbler to carry. That\u2019s the message that we must shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>The Messenger, <em>directed by Su Rynard, won Best Conservation Program at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jhfestival.org\/2015-film-competition.html\">2015 Jackson Hole Film Festival<\/a> and had its U.S. premiere in October. The Cornell Lab is the film&#8217;s U.S. outreach partner. In addition to the movie\u2019s theatrical run, <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/MessengerViewings\">groups and individuals can request showings in their area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Watch The Messenger trailer:<\/h4>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed legacy-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio \"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube embed LjQtRr4CKcc\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LjQtRr4CKcc?feature=oembed\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prepare to be transfixed by the opening shot in The Messenger, a new documentary about songbird declines. A Black-throated Blue Warbler, closer than you\u2019ve ever seen one, flies in slow<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/the-messenger-our-movie-review\/\" title=\"ReadThe Messenger: Our Movie Review\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":22031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc":0,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc_title":"","_birdpress_featured_image":false,"_birdpress_hero_toggle":false,"_birdpress_hero_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_image_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_style":"default","_birdpress_hero_ratio":"","_birdpress_hero_h1":"","_birdpress_hero_media_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_media_array_id":[],"_birdpress_hero_media_array":[],"_birdpress_hero_media":0,"_birdpress_hero_video_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_video":0,"_birdpress_hero_youtube":"","_birdpress_hero_content":true,"_birdpress_hero_byline":"","_birdpress_hero_byline_bottom":"","_birdpress_hero_button_link":"","_birdpress_hero_button_text":"","_birdpress_hero_button_color":"","_birdpress_hero_date":false,"original_guid":"","_birdpress_hide_search":false,"_birdpress_page_width":"","_birdpress_global_cta":false,"_birdpress_widget_sidebar":"","_birdpress_next_article":0,"_birdpress_next_article_title":"","_birdpress_prev_article":0,"_birdpress_prev_article_title":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_sub_navigation":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_title":false,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation":"","_birdpress_postType":"both","_birdpress_categoryID":0,"_birdpress_tagID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostTitle":"","_birdpress_menuID":0,"_birdpress_menuName":"","_birdpress_listHeader":"","_birdpress_listLayout":"card-display","_birdpress_listColumns":"","_birdpress_maxItems":12,"_birdpress_listPaginate":true,"_birdpress_displaySort":true,"_birdpress_sortOrder":"DESC","_birdpress_sortBy":"date","_birdpress_listID":"","_birdpress_listClass":"","_birdpress_displayImages":true,"_birdpress_displayCaptions":false,"_birdpress_displayExcerpts":false,"_birdpress_attTop":"","_birdpress_attBottom":"","_birdpress_showLogos":false,"_birdpress_post_logo":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_topic":0,"wds_primary_content-format":0,"wds_primary_cornell-lab-project":0,"wds_primary_host-project":0,"wds_primary_read-more-tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[998,1044],"content-format":[1055,1057],"cornell-lab-project":[],"host-project":[],"read-more-tag":[],"class_list":["post-21969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-news-and-features","topic-reviews-news-and-features","content-format-article","content-format-video"],"metadata":{"associated-posts":[""],"_edit_lock":["1448471827:4"],"_edit_last":["4"],"wdsi_message_id":[""],"wdsi_do_not_show":[""],"_wds_meta-robots-adv":[",,,"],"wpa_off":[""],"custom-byline":["<h5>By 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