SFIFF: Wild Parrots

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, Judy Irving's lovely documentary about Mark Bittner, the "Bohemian St. Francis," and his flock of avian friends, does wonders for bird appreciation and education but just as much examines the effect nature, even in the heart of compressed urbanity, can have on the human spirit. If I didn't hate the phrase, "touches the heart" so much I'd say the film does in fact, surprisingly, touch the heart.

The non-native birds themselves are characters you get to know and appreciate and worry about, including Mingus, a rhythmically inclined chap, poor old blue-headed Connor (as in conure), who is ostracized by his cherry-headed pals, and Picasso and Sophie, a romantic pair who will make even the most cynical among us open up and say, "Aw..." But it is Bittner, the human guide through through these birds' travails, who centers the documentary, as the birds are a part of his salvation, his transformation. Essentially homeless for a long period of time, Bittner lives rent-free in a Telegraph Hill cottage, a ramshackle shack among that landmark San Francisco neighborhood's gardens and stairways. Keeping cages for some of the more domestic birds - who aren't pets, he emphasizes to a doubting Thomas who sort of confronts him at the beginning of the film - Bittner teaches himself everything he can about these birds and their subspecies, about their habits and needs, while learning much (as we do) from observing them over time.

And just how did these tropical birds end up in foggy San Francisco? The film explores the possible sources but rightfully doesn't attempt a final answer. The birds are a living urban legend, and Irving's film is already a graceful part of that history. Amusingly, the opening title is displayed in a Wild Rebels/Something Weird-ish 60s-era exploitation film font, which signals that the story is, as much as anything, about a sense of history - Bittner knows his - and where these birds might find a place in San Francisco lore. And at the end, there's a wonderful twist on Bittner's story that adds a layer of poignancy to the proceedings. The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is an almost meditative little film that - even more than Winged Migration - makes one think more compassionately about birds and the people who love them.

Posted by dwhudson at April 26, 2004 12:18 PM