Opinion: Jojo and the Jackdaw changed me

Animal story films have the power to mirror, and even change, the human condition.

I once tried to organise a festival of films starring cats, as a fundraiser for a cat rescue charity I was involved with. Yes, there are films that star cats, and not just animated or children’s films. From “A street cat named Bob”, a true story about an eponymous ginger cat and his human slave, to Emir Kusturica’s “Black Cat, White Cat”, cats have had an important part to play in movie storytelling. And, especially in the case of movies that inform the debate on social issues, so have other animals. Looking, for instance, at the issue of family trauma, there are some remarkable

Looking, for instance, at the issue of family trauma, there are some remarkable animal centric dramas. Dutch director Boudewijn Koole’s Oscar-nominated piece Kauwboy draws parallels between the life of a young boy, Jojo, and the Jackdaw chick he tries to help.

In trying to get the Jackdaw back to his nest, and then raising him at home against his father’s wishes, ten year old Jojo shows us what he needs from his father, but isn’t getting. We also see, in more abstract ways, animals being used to anchor themes such as the need to love, and to know our place in the world. This is common across all cinematic regions of the world, but is beautifully exemplified by Vaclav Gajer’s Vasek Straka series of films, made for Czechoslovakian television. Vasek Straka (Tomas Holy) is sent to recuperate at the house of the Grandfather he has never met. Neither is happy with the situation, but Vasek lives in the polluted city, and Grandfather is a Forestry Officer. Nature, in the form of a Dachshund and an injured faun that Grandfather is caring for, as well as the boy’s diffident and impudent nature, force the issue, making Vasek examine his present, and Grandfather examine his past.

When I rate the quality of a film, I look at what I think it sets out to achieve, and how well it achieves that, as well as weighing the social value of what it sets out to achieve, against my own moral code, which is, after all, the only moral code I can measure things against. So was the starting point from which I draughted the original list of films for the planned festival. I have yet to get the festival off the ground, but every so often I revisit the idea of a festival of animal-centric films. Each time I do, it more strongly

So was the starting point from which I draughted the original list of films for the planned festival. I have yet to get the festival off the ground, but every so often I revisit the idea of a festival of animal-centric films. Each time I do, it more strongly instills in me the idea that such films can be used for positive social change, for these films not only show us how the characters are changed by the animals; they change us, the viewers, too.