Okay, filmmakers, it’s time to give up. The greatest film ever made has already been made, and there is no reason to ever make anything else. Someone sent me this on my Discord channel, which is the only reason to have a Discord channel. Good God, is this good. Any film that starts with “I got high and found our family’s bird book” is slotted for nominations. I just made two new best friends, the Reiser brothers, who remind me of so many of the people I grew up with. And damnit if they didn’t do a book. Yes, I will be purchasing this.
Let’s get serious for a minute.
This film soars because of the humor, but don’t let the humor detract from the quality of what they produced. This film is insanely good, and I can’t even begin to fathom the time required to create it, and I don’t mean the year of birdwatching. The film production alone is beyond comprehension. Anytime I have delusional thoughts of making films, I see something like this and think, “Stay in your lane, Milnor, go take some stills and be happy you don’t need diapers yet.” Owen is the high one, and I think Quentin is the illustrator. They are hilarious and talented.
Their “early onset birdwatching” comment is so spot on. I tell people that birdwatching sneaks up on you. I’ve not yet crossed the dork threshold required for full commitment, but I can imagine I’ll get there. It was only yesterday someone asked me about birdwatching, and I replied, “The most driven, educated subculture I’ve ever found.” And now that I have been labeled as someone keen on feathered friends, I get links and images all day long. People assume I know what I’m doing or that I can identify something. I can’t. I still get stumped every single day. Stop what you are doing and watch this film. I guarantee you will never do anything more important, and to the Reiser brothers, thank you.
Comments 30
Yep watched it last night. Great film, good score, good story and two funny as lads on a road trip.
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Loved this film. Humor goes a long, long way.
This looks really good and funny as hell. I sent the link to my sister in law. I think she’ll love it too.
My sister in law told me her bird teacher sent the link for assigned homework!
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Love that!
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It’s so good. The mushroom trip on the pelagic trip where he pukes is such a nice moment.
Danielsan…Everything YOU said. I was hooked (54) seconds into the intro (having put their production credits on the oil-jug). The stop-motion illustrations, the fantastic video captures, the mix of interviews and story, the consistent audio and blend of edits are superb…”Not even a hint of ass-crack!” “He left me his oar, now I have two shitty oars.” Too funny, and only halfway through. I’ve often thought the word “creative” is way-over-used and not worthy of many efforts on the YouTube. Absolutely not the case here, I hope they get the recognition they deserve. Thanks!
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“All you need to do is take some edibles in parking lot and the bird will appear.”
Loved the film. High-quality work indeed. Loved the storyline and the perfectly embedded humour.
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Agreed. Such a good story.
As I expect someone will already have commented by the time I hit “return”, in Britain “listers” are referred to as “twitchers”, a twitch being a tick on this year’s list. For a big tick (usually some bewildered bird blown in by an Atlantic storm) twitchers will go to any lengths, up to and including hiring a helicopter. When they descend en masse somewhere it can be hilarious — the locals on Portland Bill (a rocky promontory on the south coast) refer to them as “the tripods”, for obvious reasons.
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The competitive side is so odd. I feel the same as the brothers. Just bird. When that kid said he wouldn’t bird if it weren’t for Ebird I felt so sorry for him and all his God glory. Missing the point of life itself.
Loved the movie. I have shared the link with the bird-watchers in my family. It is a classic. When I got my first DSLR, I started off by pointing it at birds- the gratifyingly still great blue herons, the Cooper’s hawk who swooped onto an unsuspecting flicker in mid-air, and ate him in the yard across the street, and the hummingbirds who buzz around the honeysuckle at the end of the yard. Those hummingbirds taunt my daughter’s labradoodle when he lays on the deck in the shade, too close to the feeder. They buzz his head, he snaps at them but never catches them. I feel his frustration- my photos of them are unsatisfactory too.
The lesson in the movie is good, it’s like looking for a new job: there are no jobs on the couch at home, get up, and get out of the house.
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And the lesson about listing is a good one. The very last moment during the credits when he is identifying birds by sound then looks at the camera and says, “And I’m not listing any of these.”
It’s no Miami Vice.
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nothing is
I don’t even bird watch but couldn’t stop following along. The story telling is too good. Might download e-bird just to follow what people are listing
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Use the sound feature on the app. It will record everything around you. You will be amazed at what you have learned not to hear.
I’m not into Birding. But 12 minutes into the film, I want to do a Big Year.
Also for these guys being so young the interviews are well edited to lead up to the rend of the film. I wonder if they have a background in documentary film making?
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They must have. Such a gem of a film.
A ridiculously accurate look at tackling a Big Year on the cheap as a ‘sink or swim’ approach to learning birding. Enough introductory content so non-birders won’t get lost, with lots of beautiful bird footage. You’ll find yourself saying, “Yeah, I’ve done something that stupid to get a bird”, possibly more than once. Watch for the segments on how to find a grebe and the pelagic trip. Definitely closer to an R than PG-13 for language and a couple scenes of bodily fluids, although nothing intentionally offensive.
8 out of 10, highly recommended.
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Humor goes a long, long way.
Did these guys create a book? If so, I’d love to get it. The documentary was well done, funny, and informative.
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They did. Field Guide of all the Birds We Found One Year in the US.
I absolutely loved this movie; made me wish I’d gotten into birding when I was a much younger man. Shrooming on your first pelagic? Hilarious. I love my lists and I love my birds, and this film did a great job at highlighting both. The unique ‘outsiders who are yet insiders’ perspective was ingenious; at first I thought ‘what, how are these noobs going to do a Big Year,’ but as the film went on it became obvious that only outsiders to this strange community of ours could put together that specific type of documentary, and not only that it seems they developed some pretty solid birding chops in the process. Well done, honest, and funny as hell.
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When he’s identifying by sound at the end, I felt like I had won something.
Great Movie!! Love those guys.
Thanks for the recommendation.
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Glad you like.
Saw it on Youtube, but didn’t watch it (it’s loooong!). Thanks for recommending it here! Just watched the first 10 min and could not stop laughing. Fantastic film!
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You will love it!! And you also might gain serious appreciation for their effort and skill by the end of the film. And yes, its a long sucker.