“This is also a study in fulfilling solitude, although Aitken doesn’t focus here. Terry is there for rehabilitating these birds and the scene where she releases them all is a moving one.“
Con Nats
3 Feathers
I’ve seen a hummingbird once. It was tiny, and I was amazed at how fast it moved and how it could hold it’s spot. And then it was gone.
Every year, zillions of these tiny birds descend on Hollywood on their migration south. And so many of them have injuries before being handed over to Terry Maeser, who’s known as the local Hummingbird lady who wrote a book about her journey.
Terry is an even tempered lady with a soft and caring touch. She spends all day feeding these birds and getting them to regain their strength and ability to fly. We meet a few of these characters: Cactus, the exuberant Jimmy, Wasabi and the ‘love birds’, the besotted
Mikail and Alexa. And yes, they have personalities. Probably more than some of the typical Hollywood residents who we also meet. They’re almost as colourful as the birds.
Director Sally Aitken (Hot Potatoe: The story of the Wiggles) also uses a gentle touch and lots of nice imagery to break-up the story telling and avoids a lot of music and sound.
There’s loads of slo-mo showing how fast they beat their little wings. (I’m actually more fascinated in how fast they go in real time, but that’s a personal preference.)
This is Terry’s story. She’s a bit of a loner, still grieving losing her soul mate and living a quiet but fulfilling life. She has no cynicism for the human race and avoids criticising the family who kept one bird for the kids to pet for a weekend. (Humans…) This is also a study in fulfilling solitude, although Aitken doesn’t focus here. Terry is there for rehabilitating these birds and the scene where she releases them all is a moving one.
This documentary doesn’t go into informative nature documentary territory. I don’t know much more about hummingbirds at the end than I did before this documentary. But I do know there are selfless people out there happy to help these tiny travellers on their way, no matter where they’re from. And in America today, this sentiment is facing extinction.
3 Feathers
