A PIG’S LIFE Gunda is an astonishing documentary, employing careful filmmaking techniques to offer an intimate look at the lives of a sow and her piglets WORDS CHELSEA FEARNLEY / PICTURES ALT I TUDE W hen Joaquin Phoenix used his 2020 Oscar win as an opportunity for a heartfelt plea in favour of animal rights, many were mystified. It was certainly the most impassioned acceptance speech about stealing milk intended for young cows ever heard amongst all the glitz and glamour. Nonetheless, its poignancy caught the attention of art house Russian filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky, who asked Phoenix to be executive producer on his new passion project, Gunda . It’s not hard to envision how his words would’ve manifested into this narrative-free documentary about the life of the eponymous pig and her piglets. Even though it’s a simple story, there’s an emotive arc of motherhood and photographic stillness, aided by DOP Egil Håskjold Larsen’s attentive camerawork. A tremendous amount of care went into capturing the personality and intellect of the animals – as evidenced by the sharply textured, high-contrast black-and-white farms, that was given the monochrome treatment to encourage viewers to rethink their perception of pigs. “Without any colour, that postcard image of the pink pig, green grass and blue sky disappears and brings to life a new character – one which doesn’t have so many pre-existing connotations. It takes away the sensation that Gunda is anything less than individual,” explains Larsen. PRODUCTION | GUNDA
LEFT Larsen used a Panther dolly to hoist the camera up and down
10 DEF I N I T ION | MAY 202 1
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