Soul Birds

Seelenvogel (Documentary -- Germany)

By ROB NELSON

A Filmpunkt production, in co-production with the WDR, with the support of Beauftragten der Bundesregierung fur Kultur und Medien. (International sales: Filmpunkt, Koln.) Produced by Stefan Tolz, Thomas Riedelsheimer. Directed, edited by Thomas Riedelsheimer.
 
With: Pauline Wolf, Richard Swiderski, Lenni Grabe.
 

As in his "Rivers and Tides" and "Touch the Sound," German documentarian Thomas Riedelsheimer observes the intimate relationship between human beings and nature in "Soul Birds," a deeply moving portrait of three children battling leukemia. Riedelsheimer grounds the film and leavens the intense difficulty of its subject matter with gorgeous shots of fish, birds, grass, trees, flowers and insects, suggesting there's beauty as well as tragedy in the fact that none of this lasts forever. As rewarding as it is challenging, "Soul Birds" flies far beyond its particular setting near Munich, and deserves festival and television play of the widest order.

Doing the shooting and editing, helmer Riedelsheimer shapes the film around differences and similarities in how the children, ages 6 to 15, cope with their disease. The eldest, Pauline, writes philosophically in her journal about the meaning of life and death. Ten-year-old Richard, who receives a bone marrow transplant, seems to deal with his adversity by learning as much as he can about leukemia. Playful young Lenni, born with Down syndrome, expresses joy and pain in their purest states, remaining buoyant even as his illness threatens to become insurmountable.

If Pauline's intellect in some ways gives her the most daunting ordeal, it makes sense that, as the film begins, she expresses her admiration and envy of cows -- which, she says, "only sleep and eat." To help her live in the moment, Pauline meditates and practices qigong, though her faith in these disciplines wavers as the disease takes its toll.

Of the family members who appear in the film, often wrestling with the dilemma of whether or not to continue chemotherapy for their loved ones, Lenni's young sister is arguably the most pragmatic; pretending to be a doctor, she announces matter-of-factly that there's "nothing more that can be done" for her plastic patient -- an apparent dry run for her acceptance of her brother's condition. All of the children appear welcoming of Riedelsheimer's camera, even at the most harrowing times, which is surely a measure of the director's sensitive work behind the scenes.

In the case of all three patients, the disease is seen to go into remission, only to return with greater ferocity. The brief disappearance of Lenni's leukemia is characterized as a medical miracle, inexplicable except by the boy's desire to meet his sibling, then in utero.

The courage of these children and their families is extraordinary, allowing Riedelsheimer to emphasize strength and resilience despite overwhelming odds. Far from cloying, the film's cutaways to nature are perfectly timed to provide the viewer with momentary relief, and to put the children's hardship in context of the larger world. Like Riedelsheimer's previous films, "Soul Birds" boasts an exceptional visual style to match its elemental themes. Sound recording, too, is tops.

Camera (color, DV), Riedelsheimer; music, Marina Schlagintweit, Andre Butler, Max Hundelshausen, Elischa Kaminer; sound, Anna Brass; assistant director, Brass. Reviewed at Vancouver Film Festival (Nonfiction Features), Oct. 10, 2009. Running time: 89 MIN.