Whispers in the Woods

It’s easy to imagine that Britain’s closest European neighbours share our beloved but slightly limited array of wildlife (no disrespect to the hedgehog). But on the south-eastern border of France lies a patchwork of mountains and forest touched by magic. Here, in the Vosges, live lynxes, storks, Alpine chamois, and a bird so rare, locals speak of it in mythical terms. 

Whispers in the Woods, the latest soul-enhancing hymn to the natural world from Vincent Munier, follows the French filmmaker, his father and son into these misty rowan and maple forests, long lens camera in hand, in search of that elusive avian: the capercaillie. If Pixar’s Up were a documentary, and you dispensed the talking dogs and Zeppelin chases, it might look a little like these three wilderness explorers in quiet pursuit of their own version of Kevin. 

A gentle cinematic meditation well worth experiencing

Munier’s 2021 doc The Velvet Queen had him following the elusive snow leopard through the Nepalese highlands, and he evokes a similar sense of nature’s unknowable majesty in his César-winning follow-up. 

His dad, Michel, is the guide, a beanie-wearing savant of this sylvan realm. His uncanny ability to sense the presence of owls in hollowed-out three trunks, his whispered insights into mossy rock formations or flocking birds, and memories of his own boyhood encounters with the capercaillie, the unicorn of the grouse family, are passed on to his wide-eyed grandson. With Vincent an unheard presence behind the camera, the three hunker down overnight in hides, silent witnesses as the forest echoes with barks, scratchings and bird song. With no voiceover and sparse commentary from Michel, Whisper in the Woods accompanies its stunning cinematography with a symphony of sounds.

The sparsely haunting score, co-written by Warren Ellis, adds to the sense of a journey freighted with spiritual significance. These rare beasts are, of course, metaphors for the fragile balance between humans and the natural world. How each generation must pass on a duty of care to the next. The result is a gentle cinematic meditation well worth experiencing. 

In UK and Ireland cinemas now.