23/08/2021 - Olmo Omerzu uses the power of bird song to take a swipe at corporate greed in his Crystal Globe competitor

Bird Atlas [+see also:
trailer
interview: Olmo Omerzu
film profile] is the new film by Czech director Olmo Omerzu (Winter Flies [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olmo Omerzu
film profile]), which had its world premiere in the Crystal Globe Competition at the 55th Karlovy Vary Film Festival. It's a film which takes a swipe at capitalism by looking at the demise of Ivo (Miroslav Donutil), an ageing proprietor of a technology company who discovers that his company is in serious debt. His attempts to uncover the truth are hampered by his failing heart, which seems ready to give up whenever there's a reminder of the many millions of debt incurred by his company. The journey he takes will lead him to discover truths about his employees and his adult children. There's even a link to a soldier in Afghanistan, but that's far from the weirdest thing in a movie where pigeons and other birds act as a Greek chorus in this grey Czech town.

Not since a pigeon sat on a branch reflecting on existence have there been such observational and philosophical birds on screen. These chirpers utter the types of philosophical musings you might see on Christmas cards with Socialist leanings. 'Real wealth is physical health,' and 'The power of the mighty rests on the tears of the poor,' are just a couple of their gems. When not championing compassion, the birds are astute observers of the damage humans are doing to planet Earth. When not telling people that it's better to be poor and debt-free than rich and tired, the birds also comment on the action. There’s no real reason for them to do so, the plot isn't that complicated, but it adds a certain level of quirkiness and lightness to a movie whose sombre and heavy tone is set from the very first shot, which shows a soldier in action getting ready to use his weapon of mass destruction.

Ivo is the kind of patriarch that every movie wants as their villain these days. He slams the police for not doing enough to get his money back. He believes he can solve the crime quicker than others and that his way isn’t just the best way, it’s the only way. In the eyes of his two sons and his daughter, he's put his work first all of his life. He doesn't agree. The camera framing by Lukáš Milota is claustrophobic, the music of Monika Omerzu Midriaková foreboding and production design of the offices and houses extremely bland whenever problematic Ivo is on screen. Ivo's investigations lead him to his accountant Marie (Alena Mihulová), who is far more interested in trying to connect with her internet boyfriend than in helping solve the mystery of the missing money. Marie is a woman of many secrets and while the film has many birds and a dog, the actual animal at work is a catfish. But just who is duping whom? And will Ivo survive long enough to discover the truth? And why, given all this, isn't Bird Atlas more pleasing?

Through Jana Vlčková’s structure and editing, director Omerzu links corporate greed to wars in Afghanistan and the internet, but it doesn't all come together, despite the attempts of the birds and Ivo's children to explain that, in life, there are plenty of things more important than money. Luxury holidays, for the kids, green politics, for the birds. It's a shame that the courts agree with Ivo, that financial crimes are a punishable offence while being an overbearing, self-righteous capitalist is perfectly human and acceptable.

Bird Atlas is produced by endorfilm, in co-production with Cvinger Film, Punkchart Films and Česká Televize. International sales are entrusted to Dubai-based Cercamon.