In Pica Pica Kristersson invites the viewer to be enthralled for an hour and a half by the vicissitudes of magpie life. Opposing himself to the current nature films that tend to highly compress time in order to end up with a concentrated sequence of action-elements Kristersson leaves rhythm and tempo almost completely up to the magpies themselves. With great integrity he filmed the daily, social and emotional life of a species of birds that has many points of contact with human life. Thus, the movie offers us the oppurtunity to view our own everyday existence through other eyes, from a world right above our heads, but yet so far away.
Direction
Kristersson surrendered control to birds. Revolutionary.
Editing
Anti-nature-doc: refuses to manufacture tension.
Sound
Magpie conversations more nuanced than most scripts.
Director
Mikael Kristersson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released the same year as Predator and RoboCop, this quietly radical film asked audiences to find drama in patience rather than explosions.
The magpies were never fed or baited—every 'performance' is authentic avian behavior, making this possibly the most ethical documentary ever made.
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