I just finished watching this movie. I am always moved and delighted by this film. It's about a little girl who raises an orphaned flock of Canadian Geese and teaches them to migrate South for the winter. I've never been especially attached to birds. But the premise of this movie and the actual experience that inspired the film is itself quite inspiring. The film is based on a group of people that have discovered how to teach migratory birds to "imprint" on humans. They then use Ultralight aircraft to lead flocks of migratory birds from Canada to Virginia. And every spring these birds return home! Operation Migration has helped flocks of endangered birds, like Whooping Cranes, create migratory patterns that will lead to the perpetuation of their species.
Having lived in Rochester, NY, I had my fair share of run-ins with geese! They hatched their babies in the swampy area on the outskirts of campus reserved for RIT's research department. And since our apartments backed up to this land, we walked to class right along side these little goslings! They hopped up and down the curbs, and swam in the little ponds that were part of RIT's landscape design. (As cute as they were, though, we all tried to generally avoid the flying geese. They could take out a windshield in one fell swoop—with their droppings, that is)!While watching the movie, I couldn't help but think about how a
bird's eye view is like a God's eye view. Either perfectly micro,
or entirely macro.
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FYI, the film "Fly Away Home" is loosely based upon the experiences of Bill Lishman and his friend and business partner, Joe Duff. These 2 men actually are the founders of Operation Migration, and they have progressed from flying Canada Geese, to flying Sandhill Cranes, to flying the highly endangerd Whooping Cranes, now from Wisconsin to Florida. Bill has not flown with the cranes since 2006's migration, but Joe Duff continues to fly the cranes, now with a fleet of 4 ultralight aircraft, 3 other pilots, and a small team of people who have amazing dedication to help this beautiful species of birds! If you would like more information on the current project, you can check out www.operationmigration.org. It is a truly inspiring work that these people are doing! An even greater adventure than the film depicts, IMHO.
I LOVE this movie!
Jeff Daniels is so great in it!
It is just precious to watch what she goes through to take care of those geese.... one of those feel good movies, for sure!
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