Pelican Dreams Review
By David Kempler
Docile Birds
Documentarian Judy Irving really has a thing for birds. In 2003, her "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" was an improbable story about a homeless man who befriends a flock of wild parrots. At the end, a far more improbable event happens. We learn that Ms. Irving has fallen in love with him and they have gotten married.
"Pelican Dreams" focuses on pelicans, which you may have gathered already. Filmed in the San Francisco Bay area, it is an overview of the plight of the Brown Pelican. Not unsurprisingly, they are victims of pollution and a changing environment.
The problem is that there is little in the way of surprises here or even much that distinguishes it from a PBS Nature show, not that that is necessarily a bad thing. After all, PBS does great work, but when you go to a theater, you expect a little bit more.
The initial scene is pretty captivating. A pelican is seen standing on the roadway of the Golden Gate Bridge. Police have attempted to keep traffic away from him until he can be captured, which wasn't very difficult. This is an ongoing scenario in the film. Whenever pelicans have to be captured for their own good, they remain fairly calm for a wild species of bird. They almost seem to instinctively trust humans. Maybe they're just too lazy to care very much about being caught with a large handheld net.
Irving follows the saga of the pelican found on the bridge and she is given the name Gigi, in honor of the Golden Gate Bridge. There are sweet, sad and amusing moments involving the progress and non-progress of Gigi. We also meet other injured pelicans under the care of various wildlife workers and these reveal equally sweet, sad and amusing moments.
"Pelican Dreams" is okay, but it's lacking in real conflict and tension. What we are left with is mostly a feeling of passing time while watching an intermittently mildly interesting animal documentary. It is well-intentioned, but that's simply not enough. It's not a nightmare, but it's not a dream, either.
