February 21st 2025

Bird

It may not be a two-dog night, but it is a one-film week. And what a terrific film this is!  However, prepare for the onslaught of many more in the coming weeks. 

Bird

Dir: Andrea Arnold

Length: 119 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y0iJkT97Jc

© Mushroom Group/Reset Collective  - moving,
funny, chaotic, and magical. A winner! 

Bailey (Nikiya Adams) is a young teen living with her brother Hunter and her Dad, Bug (Barry Keoghan), in a squalid run-down squat. Bug, who had Bailey when he was 14, is like an overgrown kid, and her stoner mother lives with Bailey's three half-siblings and an abusive boyfriend. So, Bailey more or less raises herself and is a loner, watching birds fly overhead, talking to seagulls, and in need of a friend. One day she chances upon a strange elf-like, skirt-wearing man, Bird (Franz Rogowski), who befriends her and gradually becomes like a protector to her. This gorgeous film celebrates both the joyous and the depressing sides of life. The conditions in which Bailey and her family live are chaotically recreated with loud music and grimy sets depicting an environment that borders on shocking. Bailey's little siblings, who she cares for deeply,  live in fear of the mother's violent boyfriend, while Bailey is distraught that her Dad plans to marry. But, when Bird enters her life, things change. We never learn where this man came from, and there is such an other-worldliness, gentleness and kindness to him as he transforms Bailey's life. Rogowski is simply mesmerising as this strange character. After all the in-your-face realism, the film takes a drastic turn towards the end, to enter a place of magic realism, but if you just go along for the ride you will be richly rewarded by this gem of a film.

4 - highly recommended