The Birds Who Fear Death (2024) Film Review
The Birds Who Fear Death is an illuminating film not because of the story it tells, but because it dares to touch a theme that not many films depicting indigenous cultures address. It’s not just that the modern world has pillaged the villages and what remains today is a vestige of what was once a vast universe. It’s that just like every other culture, moral values are fragile and greed has gone past the limits of what’s considered the “white devil.” In this world, there are also bad people.
The film starts with a not-so serious approach that I didn’t very much care for. Two quite unlikable characters that follow a special design: They are monsters, ethically corrupt and distant from the values that you would identify with their culture. Adam and Ryan are two young siblings who are waiting for their father to die. They indulge in heavy squandering and they are running out. The problem is that William dies, and they realize he left all his money to the community of Bird, an indigenous outpost he was once part of.
Adam and Ryan head out to Bird, and the film officially begins. One in which they confront the usual differences between the values they grew up with, and those that inherently run through their veins: They are also indigenous but they are not familiar with their cultural background and how it has adapted to the modern world. The problem with The Birds Who Fear Death is that it gets complicated for no reason. In its second half it struggles to go forward until tragedy strikes, and the film enters its final sprint, one that significantly improves the story. Time-wise it’s not very logical because everything gets solved at the snap of a finger, but at least the film provides closure to Adam’s character.
The Birds Who Fear Death is a bit naive when addressing important subjects its director claims he’s trying to bring up. The ecological disaster linked to industrialization is supposed to be part of the plot, but sadly, the point is missed with attention given to drama that I wasn’t connected with. Sure, it’s unnecessary to be loud about this because it’s a real issue that’s widely known, but I expected the film to be more socially relevant, and less of a moral dilemma.
The film looks beautiful. What director Sanjay Patel lacks in storytelling skills, he makes up in other areas. The cinematography, the sound design, and some of the performances are pretty good. It’s also important that many people from indigenous backgrounds participate in the movie, and this adds authenticity to the entire project. No, it isn’t perfect as a story, but at least it’s a noteworthy attempt in bringing relevancy to communities we have forgotten about and the problems they have, which, by the way, are somehow related to the progress of other cultures.
Look out for performances by Graham Greene and Adam Beach, two very underrated actors from indigenous backgrounds that we don’t see enough of in modern cinema.
