June 1, Movie 1

The first film of The June Swoon is a film that is contained in a series that I am returning to after watching several of the earlier films of the series in the DailyView. Seth Breedlove directed these documentaries dealing with the phenomenon of the Sasquatch, aka Bigfoot. The film that kicks off The June Swoon is On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Discovery.

This doc finds Seth Breedlove joining up with The Olympic Project. According to their website, The Olympic Project is “association of dedicated researchers, investigators, biologists and trackers committed to documenting the existence of Sasquatch through science and education. Through comprehensive habitat study, DNA analysis and game camera deployment, our goal is to obtain as much information and empirical evidence as we can, with hopes of being as prepared as possible when and if species verification comes to fruition. Our studies are conducted in a non-invasive manor with respect and sensitivity to probable habitat we believe this amazing species inhabits.”

The focus of this documentary, and the topic of the “discovery” of the film is an investigation in an area in Washington called the Olympic peninsula where several “nests” were found. Nesting is a known trait of gorillas, where they bust up branches and twigs in certain manners to build these nests for bedding and/or birth.

They spoke about the almost militaristic style of building these nests, how it is built to give the best possible cover and protection and the manner in which the branches are broken indicate a creature with an opposable thumb.

The doc heads out and seems to discover a nest that may have been in the process of being built when they came across it. This whole nest section of the doc was interesting and gave the viewers some definite questions to ponder.

There are more than just nests included in this doc. They spend some time on the vocalization of the Bigfoot and the attempt to capture the sounds of the Sasquatch. They played some intriguing recordings during the doc. They also included a bunch of really compelling stories from eye witnesses and from the members of the Olympic Project for why they joined up in this scientific organization that may not be perceived as very realistic.

I think I enjoyed this doc more than the other films in this series. This felt more compelling and offered some potential progress. It was also a better produced version of the film than the previous ones were.