Nevada City Advocate - A free news & entertainment Newspaper Serving Nevada City & Greater Nevada County: ‘The Legend of Pale Male’ named best film at Wild & Scenic

‘The Legend of Pale Male’ named best film at Wild & Scenic
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Chuck Jaffee on Jan 17 11:30pm
 
'The Legend of Pale Male' was just named the best film of the 2010 SYRCL Wild &
Scenic Film Festival. A review of the film done exclusively for the Nevada City
Advocate follows. Other award winners named on Saturday afternoon at Miners
Foundry include: 'A Simple Question,' 'No Impact Man,' 'Fresh,' 'The First
Ascent,' 'Lords of Nature,' 'The Cove,' 'The First Ascent,' 'Taking Root,' and
'Finding Farley.' In addition, Film Festival Director Kathy Dodson received a
Lifetime Acheivement Award.
'The Legend of Pale Male' takes viewers to new heights
When: 2:35 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17
Venue: Nevada Theatre
Length: 85 minutes
Director: Frederic Lilien
By Chuck Jaffee
Film Festival Head Juror
A red-tailed hawk soars, hunts and nests without fanfare. It lords over its
dominion without entitlement beyond the wind that blows across its wings and its
devotion to a reproductive cycle.
Fanfare. This is a word meant for humans. Consider the tale of “The Legend of
Pale Male.” With a humble flavor of self-indulgence, Frederic Lilien has
crafted a documentary film about a red-tailed hawk. He shows how the hawk has
enthralled a human audience for nearly two decades.
The fact that a red-tailed hawk lives nears Manhattan’s Central Park is a
rarity. It caused human beings to establish vigilant rituals and communal
gawking while rallying a sense of purpose. It inspired the use of photography,
binoculars, videography and telescopes and captured media attention. This wild
creature stirred connections and hopefulness, at once mundane and expansive.
More so, perhaps, because this link to nature unfolded in the heart of New York
City.
The warming sentiments documented in “The Legend of Pale Male” carry you
way past any inclination to think this is just a lot of bruhaha about a bird.
Pale Male, as the hawk was named by an enamored journalist, built his nest on
the 12th floor of a posh Fifth Avenue address.  He “married” four times over
the years and sired many a child. It is this family saga that most enraptured
Pale Male’s fans, especially the prospect of youngsters leaping from the nest
in first flight.
The story acquires a twist that could have dissolved some of its sweetness, but
the twist is integral to this very human story about a bird, and the filmmakers
handle it well. They help you be willing to believe that Pale Male appreciated
the loving stir he caused, or at least accepted the fanfare that seems to define
the creature that constantly hangs around his adopted home.