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Gunda Movie Review

Gunda is a 2021 international documentary film directed by Viktor Kossakovsky. It is such a heartbreaking, artistic film that is tough, but essential viewing.

This film takes a look at a farm that is set in an unknown location. There, we follow a sow and her piglets, two cows and a one-legged chicken. The movie is interesting in its classic cinematic approach – it is shot in black-and-white and it is silent with no dialogue. It only makes use of the animals’ sounds, such as grunting, while it also has no score to speak of.

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I found this choice excellent. It made it more intimate as it offered a grounded, detailed look into the lives of these farmyard animals. There is this peaceful serenity that permeates the entire movie up until that final section that pulls the carpet beneath you and shocks you into disbelief and regret.

Just seeing a mother pig looking for her piglets that aren’t there anymore was truly heartbreaking. I am not a vegetarian nor do I intend to become one, but this movie has the power, if not to change your eating habits, then to at least make you think more about what all of us are doing. Pigs are particularly smart mammals, so it is always horrible thinking about their role in our cuisine.

Gunda isn’t really manipulative. It’s a message movie, but it never states the obvious, but just lets it be stated through touching imagery. That was a terrific choice that paid off tremendously and made the movie both sophisticated and timeless.

The black-and-white cinematography is absolutely stunning here. It is mesmerizing. The animals get some great close-ups and the movie has such a timeless quality to its imagery that it almost felt like a 1920s nature documentary than a modern one.

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Gunda does have a chicken and two cows, but the pigs are the stars. Simply seeing how they play similarly to dogs (like all mammals do) was very sweet. The movie has that eerie sense of impending doom throughout that was perfectly contrasted with the otherwise endearing imagery. Obviously, this kind of film doesn’t teach you anything that we hadn’t already known about these animals, which was an issue for me, but it’s so beautifully shot and so immediate in its imagery that I loved it nonetheless.

Gunda has the power, if not to make you a vegetarian, then to at least make you think about what you are eating. This is a powerful nature documentary about the lives of farm animals, in particular focusing on a sow and her piglets. It is serene in its endearing imagery that permeates most of the film until it shocks you into disbelief with that absolutely horrific and heartbreaking closing scene. The lack of score and use of black-and-white photography made for a timeless feel to the movie.

My Rating – 4.5