For me, Crimson Wing was a somewhat sad and tragic story that showed me very clearly what hardships the flamingos had to go through in order to preserve their species.Filmed almost entirely at Lake Natron in Tanzania, not only did the adult flamingos have to protect their new-born chicks from such ravenous beasts as the mongoose, but the vast salt deposits that accumulate around Lake Natron posed an equally treacherous threat for the survival of the struggling young, as well.Crimson Wing was a "Disney-Nature" presentation. Not only was it impressively photographed and its narration by Mariella Frostrup informative, but its musical score by Le Cinematic Orchestra set the mood of this documentary's story very nicely.Yes. I certainly do recommend Crimson Wing to all who are curious about the diversity of the natural world that exists in abundance all across this planet we call "ours'.

Known simply as 'The Crimson Wing' here in the UK, I remember it causing a bit of a stir when it was released just over a year ago. Of course it all died down pretty quickly and the film didn't pick up any major awards. Needless to say it caught my attention and so when it turned up on TV I decided to give it a viewing.This documentary tells the story of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania and how every year, after the rains come, a massive flock of Lesser Flamingos comes to the lake to breed. It tells of all the trials and tribulations of the young chicks, of all the dangers they must survive and, yes, there are scenes depicting the fates of those that don't. We are also told about some of the wildlife surrounding the lake and how it gives the flamingos their unique crimson plumage.A great score and some superb cinematography give this film the edge over other nature documentaries I've seen. There is also a great narration delivered by British TV presenter, Mariella Frostrup which only added to my enjoyment.It did tend to sag a bit towards the end, but overall quite an enjoyable and informative film. I wouldn't recommend it for the very young, but I think for anyone interested in wildlife its well worth a viewing. Over all, recommended.My score: 6.8/10

I saw this as part of the New York International Children's Film Festival weekly screenings at the IFC Center in Manhattan. The blurbs they had posted on their website and the link to the trailer made this seem like it was something I would love to see.The film follows a year in the life of the flamingos from their birth in a the middle of the inhospitable lake Natron, which is so full of salt nothing can live there, through their growing up to the point where they can leave and then back to their return to the lake the next year. Actually most of the film is on their time at Natron with the chicks struggling to live.A visually stunning film, this movie is so full of fantastic images it will have your mouth hanging open and tears rolling down your cheeks. Its a stunningly beautiful film at times and it was a treat to see the images on a huge movie screen.The film is also very heart breaking. The film does not shy away from showing the young (and not so young) birds as they meet their doom either at the hands of the predators, who wade in and take their fill, or from the salt shackles that form around the legs of some of the chicks which make their getting around slow or even impossible. If the film doesn't have a regular US release, which it appears not to, I'm guessing its because the heart breaking scenes of the death of the chicks have given Disney pause as to how to market the film to families.For me the flaw of the film is that as it stands now its too long by a good fifteen or twenty minutes. Once the chicks begin to mature and head off to the various lakes around Africa the film kind of has nowhere to go (actually once the birds get off the salt islands the film slows). The filmmakers don't follow the birds much and outside of the narration that "they go where they will" and some flying sequences, we see little. Then, magically, a year has passed and the birds return again. The film is essentially repeating itself (Even the narration repeats itself)and it suddenly seems to have no point other than to show this one piece of the life of the flamingos. Don't get me wrong its not a bad film, Its just that its one that's been stretched to 75 minutes to make the minimum length required for a feature film.I like it its worth seeing, just be wary if you bring the kids since some of the sequences with doomed chicks may upset some of the children in your brood (A couple of kids in the theater were desperate to be reassured by mommy and daddy) The first 50 minutes is 8 out of 10, the second half less, with the over all petering out making the film less then it really should be.

Crimson Wing is a documentary based on the lives of some flamingo chicks throughout their birth to young adulthood … Filmed mainly around Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania.Finely narrated by Zabou Breiman, with some fantastic wildlife photography and a really moving music score this film gets inside the adventures experienced over the period of a year – showing seasonal changes – births, deaths, trials and tribulations of the young birds and their weird and wonderful habitats – especially interesting are the strange "salt islands" that the flamingo's use for nesting and rearing their young.Many of the audience were engrossed by this film … and many of the children especially seemed to "adopt" and be entranced by the story and the chicks and were genuinely concerned for the birds well-being.A fascinating bird's eye view into the lives of flamingo's … if you didn't like or know much about these birds before – then you'll grow to be fascinated by them from watching this well crafted documentary, superb, high-quality photography, beautiful landscapes and a stirring musical score.Recommended for lovers of nature documentaries everywhere.