FAUNA - A Review by John Strange

FAUNA – A Review by John Strange

This is an excerpt from PBS’ POV website:

“Set in a rural area in the outskirts of Barcelona, Pau Faus’s keen-eyed, witty and compassionate second documentary Fauna… juxtaposes the life of a local goatherd and life in a nearby research laboratory to explore the tangled contemporary relationship between man, nature and science.”

With a description like that, I had to see it. Pau Faus’s film is a quiet look at an older man who began his career as a goatherd at the age of 13. It is a hard life that has taken its toll on his health. His wife is also ill and unable to assist him.

Meanwhile, the staff in the huge laboratory building pretty much next door to the land where his flock lives is searching for a COVID-19 vaccine. They are using different animals to test the new vaccine variants, including goats from next door.

The access that the film received from the lab was amazing. We got to see the lengths that the employees went to to protect themselves and the outside world during the process.

The film doesn’t make any judgments on what it is showing us. I think anyone who lived through the pandemic should find the film fascinating and the story of the goatherd heartbreaking.

Director: Pau Faus

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Selig Rating: 4 Stars

Runtime: 74 Min.

Release Locations: PBS’ POV Broadcast and FVOD streaming

Release Date: 08/05/2024 (through 09/04/2024)

Language: Catalan and Spanish (with English Subtitles)

Genre: Documentary

Trailer: FAUNA Trailer

The Selig Rating Scale:

5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.

4 Stars – Good movie/show