June Movie Review

Winged Migration, Deep Blue, and Himalaya
by Hersius

Winged Migration, Deep Blue, and Himalaya focus on the relationships of life to the environment. All three are products, to some extent, of the creative mind of Jacques Perrin.

Winged Migration was co-written, co-produced, co-directed, and narrated by Perrin, the French version of Deep Blue was narrated by him, and he was the producer for Himalaya. As an actor, Perrin has appeared in over 100 screen roles since his childhood, including parts in Z, Cinema Paradiso, and the recent Brotherhood of the Wolf. As a producer, he has been involved with over 20 films, including the important political films Z, State of Seige, and September 11. Taken together, these films bring the sky, ocean, and high-altitude land into perspective.

Environmental protectionism is a Gorean concern. The Gor books level harsh criticisms against societies for the destruction of ecosystems though pollution. I am also reminded of Norman’s words, “ A good maxim to keep in mind is that if it is not beautiful it is not Gorean.” Witness of Gor supplementary material section, page equivalent 721. These three movies are testaments to the ecology through showcasing the beauty of nature.

Winged Migration took three years to film as it followed actual bird migrations throughout the world. Amazingly, all the birds shown are genuine, not designed by computer. The crew used delta-wing, glider, helicopter, ultralight, and balloon technologies to capture close-ups of birds in flight, and the musical score makes the effect unimaginable. One reviewer termed the movie, “both a dazzling travelogue ... and a poetic ballet of energy and grace.” The movie celebrates the sky and those who take to it. It pictures nature as it is supposed to be. The scene in which a flock finds itself mired in pollution is heartbreaking, and the image is so powerful that the contrast needs no words to illustrate the value of having a near pristine environment.

Deep Blue, directed by Andy Byatt and Alastair Frothergill, was released in English, French, and Flemish language versions. The narration is appropriately sparse, permitting the visual to work its magic as the documentary displays the vast beauty of the ocean from coral reefs to ice to depths, set to original music by George Fenton performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. As with the other two movies, the scenes are actual and not drafted by computer. The majesty of the ocean must be seen to even begin to be comprehended, and this movie offers evocative natural images beyond the power of words.

Himalaya was directed by Eric Valli. It tells the tale of a village in the Dolpo region of Nepal as it prepares for an annual caravan across the mountains to trade salt for grain. The person who normally leads the caravan dies, and conflict develops as to who should lead the caravan. The scenery is magnificent and the realism is thoroughly convincing. The power of nature proves the ultimate inability of humanity to tame it, and the wisdom is to understand nature and comply with it in order to achieve one's goals. The draft animals are yaks, and so one gets to see what yak herding is like. This is the special treat for fans of the Gor series, since I believe that Norman based the bosk on the yak. In this belief, I offer the relevant animal ecology notes below.

In the Linnean classification system, the family Bovidae is sort of a catch-all that includes sheep, goats, musk oxen, gazelles, antelope, and the subfamily Bovinae, which is the origin word for bovine. There are 24 living species of bovines divided into three loose tribes. The tribe Bovini contains, among others, the genus Bos and the genus Bison. Note that the two are distinct. Many online interpretations of the Gorean bosk assume that its corrolary is the bison, of the genus Bison. My opinon is that the bosk corrolates with the yak, of the genus Bos.

The genus Bos is comprised of six living species. These are all considered cattle. Bos indica is the Brahman. Bos taurus is the species name for domestic cattle. Bos taurus has some 61 breeds worldwide and is in no danger of declining numbers. Bos frontalis, also known as the gaur, is a short-haired animal living in southern Asia from India to Viet Nam. It is classified as being Vulnerable on the Endangered Species List. The total population of wild gaur worldwide is believed to be less than 30,000. Bos javanicus, also known as the banteng, is a short-haired animal living in Thailand and on Java. It is classified as being Endangered on the Endangered Species List. The total population of wild banteng worldwide is believed to be less than 8,000. Bos sauveli, also known as the kouprey, is a short-haired animal living in southeast Asia. It is classified as being Critically Endangered on the Endangered Species List. The total population of wild kouprey worldwide is believed to be less than 250. As short-haired cattle, none of these wild cattle species Bos corrolates with the Gorean bosk.

Movies can affirm Norman’s insistence on the importance of an unpolluted ecosystem in which wildness can exist, for as Henry David Thoreau stated so succintly, “In Wildness is the preservation of the World.”