The Game

A very meticulous process that includes pigeons, boxes, wires and huts is being put together by a group of men (and one woman) in the middle of a French forest. We don’t know exactly what they do but it looks like they are getting ready for some kind of war. And, in some ways, that is exactly what goes on here. These people are patiently hunting pigeons through very elaborate contraptions, waiting for the exact moment to attack them. But their war is not really against the birds. Their enemy is deforestation, the way the trees are disappearing, turning their traditional “game” obsolete, maybe even ruining their purpose in life. De Contes does not judge what this motley crew of veteran pigeon hunters do. She observes their dedication, the time and effort they spend doing this and their debates about who is better at this particular sport. Against them, some other groups of men we never get to see, are turning the forest into an open field. Nature is the victim here. Cinema, its witness. (Viennale)