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The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

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This poignant documentary chronicles the true story of a modern-day St. Francis of Assisi, a homeless San Francisco street musician by the name of Mark Bittner who adopts a flock of wild parrots as he searches for meaning in his life. With a surprise ending that left festival audiences cheering, director Judy Irving's film celebrates urban wildness -- human and avian -- and links parrot antics to human behavior.
Netflix Rating: 3.6
NYT Review: A Man Who Lives a Life of His Choosing With a Flock of Colorful Friends
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Rotten Tomatoes: Fresh 95%: Consensus: Interesting and appealing as both a study of man and nature.
Fresh: 88 Rotten: 5 Rotten Tomatoes page
Top Rotten Tomatoes Critics: Bittner is an acutely compassionate man, and Irving is careful to question the details of his life without prosecuting him. full review

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

Bittner has a passion for these parrots, he's taken the time to painstakingly befriend them, and Telegraph Hill takes you into his world as completely as he has gone into theirs. full review

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

A bright window into the wild kingdom just outside our door that most of us barely notice, if at all. full review

Peter Howell, Toronto Star

A cornball charmer of a film with some beautiful birds and homespun wisdom. full review

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Charming, intelligent entertainment that should attract the same family audiences that flocked to Winged Migration in 2001. full review

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press

An absolute delight and nothing like the wimpy nature film its title suggests. It's a soaring -- figuratively and literally -- documentary with a surprising emotional power. full review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A loving, dopey documentary about the bird man of a place with a view of Alcatraz.

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

It contains ample joys and sorrows, and it will introduce you to some of the year's most memorable characters.

Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

[A] charming, layered documentary. full review

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

The biggest problem with this documentary is its title, which makes it sound like a bird-watching club filmstrip. While it indeed concerns birds, it's about a lot more. full review

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Quite simply, a beautiful film, in both form and content. full review

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

In many ways, this is a movie for outcasts and outcasts at heart -- most of us, I'll wager. full review

David Edelstein, Slate

Not that San Francisco needs more tourists, but Wild Parrots captures a nice little piece of the city's magic, its landmarks, hills, tree-lined streets and quietly regal neighborhoods. full review

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

Bittner is calm, intelligent, confiding, wise and well-spoken. full review

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Irving's insightful, glorious little documentary reveals larger personal truths for her subject while exploring a hidden society of unwanted parrots. full review

Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune

This is a gem. full review

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

This is a charmfest of a movie, for bird lovers and non-bird lovers alike. full review

Desson Thomson, Washington Post

What might have been a static portrait has become a true story, with tragic turns, joyful surprises and provocative glimpses into the meaning of life. full review

Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic

full review by Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

full review by Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel