Gunda

AroView: A sublime, meditative documentary following the lives of a small group of farm animals, from acclaimed Russian documentarian Victor Kossakovsky.

The animals are a one-legged chicken, a pair of cows and Gunda, a mother sow, whose extraordinary capacity for emotion, will and conscious desires provide us with an opportunity to question the old human habit of seeing ourselves as unique and exceptional in the universe.

Shot in black-and-white and without dialogue, this is an invaluable portrait of the natural world, which eschews the traditional artistry and deliberate poetry of most nature documentaries for a banal yet authentic and moving film experience.

“Its radiantly beautiful imagery and gently immersive storytelling aren’t in service of a single browbeating message, but a broader, holistic view of where we and the animals we rear, use and consume fit into a single circle of life.” ~Guy Lodge, Variety