Donne moi des ailes (2019)

Directed by: Nicolas Vanier | 113 minutes | adventure, family | Actors: Jean-Paul Rouve, Mélanie Doutey, Louis Vazquez, Frédéric Saurel, Lilou Fogli, Grégori Baquet, Dominique Pinon, Philippe Magnan, Ariane Pirié, Christine Braconnier, Cyril Necker, Cédric Meusburger, Murielle Huet des Aunay, Jacques Wartermain, Matt

Christian, a visionary but somewhat misunderstood and unorthodox scientist and bird migration specialist, studies wild geese. For his son Thomas, who is fond of video games and seems to have grown up with his mobile phone, spending the summer holidays with his father surrounded by nature is initially a real nightmare. Unexpectedly, a crazy project brings the two closer together: saving a group of rare geese with the help of… Christian’s hang glider! In good spirits, the duo embark on an incredible journey full of danger and adventure.

Nicolas Vanier is a director who likes to explore the complex and often schizophrenic relationship between man and nature in his films. He prefers to do this in the form of a film type that can be described as docufiction. The concern about the globally dwindling wild birds is the approach for ‘Donne-moi des ailes’. The character Christian is based on the French ornithologist Christian Moullec. It has been guiding geese of various plumage on their traditional migration routes since the 1990s using motorized hang gliders.

‘Donne-moi des ailes’ reconstructs Moullec’s pioneering work and adds a fictional story about the complex father-son relationship between Christian and Thomas. The entire operation unfolds before our eyes, from the artificial incubation of the goose eggs and the first test flight with the microlight aircraft to the long journey from France to the inhospitable north of the European continent. Between the lines, Vanier points to the skepticism with which people in scientific and conservation circles often react to plans that fall outside the usual framework.

That is also the main message of this at times heartwarming film: don’t assume too quickly that something is impossible. Perseverance, creativity, daring, passion and the ability to think outside the box often take you a long way. In that sense, ‘Donne-moi des ailes’ also implicitly criticizes the bureaucratic way in which nature conservation is often carried out. Huge reports on species conservation are often written by ‘desk ecologists’ who have no connection or feeling whatsoever with the outdoors and the animals for which all those conservation plans are written.

Although that message remains latently present under the skin, Vanier never opts for a pedantic, pushy or preachy tone. He especially lets the landscapes and the beautiful aerial images of the migrating geese speak. An excellent choice, because those cinematic gems are often more powerful than words. The character drawing of the eccentric ornithologist and his rebellious son sometimes has a somewhat high Disney quality, but it certainly does not spoil the fun. A few amiable secondary characters further enrich the story and make for a winning recipe. The result: an enjoyable film that combines an adventurous approach with a strong plea for the protection of wild migratory birds.