Page 2 April 29, 2021
Entertainment
Film Review
‘Gunda’ Review: A Wordless Film of a
Mother Pig Stuns in Black and White
By Morgan Rojas for cinemacy.com
Extreme animals rights activist Joaquin
Phoenix has teamed up with director Victor
Kossakowsky and NEON to bring the arthouse
film Gunda to the big screen. Taking on an
Gunda, courtesy of Neon.
executive producer role, Phoenix’s passion
in support of the film is clear, stating, “Kossakovsky
has crafted a visceral meditation on
existence that transcends the normal barriers
that separate species. It is a film of profound
importance and artistry.”
Shot in black and white and with no dialogue
or soundtrack, Gunda chronicles the
unfiltered lives of a mother pig, a flock of
chickens, and a herd of cows with masterful
intimacy. This observational documentary
sits in a class of its own with its quietly
commanding message of animal symbiosis
in the natural world.
Nothing pulls at my heartstrings more than
a good animal documentary that is authentic
in it storytelling and not set up to create
maximum emotional impact. On the contrary,
Gunda‘s lack of any narrative whatsoever
is what makes the film so devastatingly
beautiful. It requires some mental stamina
to sit through, at times I had to wonder if
the camera was left accidentally rolling for
minutes on end before any sort of action or
movement appears in frame. Confident in its
directorial choices and unique sensibilities,
it’s no surprise that Viktor Kossakowsky
calls Gunda his most personal and important
film he has made as a filmmaker and as a
human being.
Gunda is the definition of an experimental
film, and I’ve never seen anything quite like
it. It’s not really comparable to the beloved
David Attenborough BBC documentaries
because there is no dialogue whatsoever
here. It stands apart from the nature docs
on Disney+ because of its drastic black &
white look. Gunda‘s stark beauty resembles
that of a high-fashion Vogue film, but instead
of watching waif-like models describe what
they eat in a day or give us a tour of their
home, we’re literally following a pig around
a barn. It’s not the most daring or visually
stimulating film I’ve ever seen, but what
gives Gunda its cinematic strength is the
commitment to a bold aesthetic.
Gunda was apparently a 25-year project for
Kossakowsky, and not once did his dedication
to the project, or his vision, waiver. What
he’s created is an innovative documentary
that breaks the traditional rules of making
Morgan Rojas
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Planning Retirement Savings
After COVID-19
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Seniors
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See Film Review, page 7