Mr. Flippers - A Duckumentary

Mr Flippers: A Duckumentary is a 40-minute documentary, written and directed by Alexander Davidowski, following Joey Larson, a man who takes in an injured duck. Joey is an animal lover who lives alone on a ranch- Lumiraria Ranch to be specific- in the countryside. After finding a wild duck with a limp, Joe adopts him as his pet, caring for him, feeding him, and providing him with a pen. The two seem to have a genuinely close relationship, and Joe comically names the duck ‘Mr. Flippers’.

The narrator, ‘Zimmer Wernzog ’, acts as an additional character, played by Tommy Miller. Wernzog is a curious, German man with his own journey of discovery, which is played out in the documentary. Wernzog intriguingly relates his own psyche to the narrative of the documentary, comparing his reasons for looking into Larson’s case to Larson’s for taking in Mr Flippers, becoming a subject in himself. Viewers will find Wernzog’s narrative style similar to that of German filmmaker Werner Herzog's, narrator and director of Grizzly Man (2005). The character of Wernzog adopts Herzog’s romantic style and approach of applying his own views and perspective on the subject, through the lens of the natural world being full of chaos. Duckumentary is also thematically similar to Grizzly Man, with a subject obsessed with and attached to a particular species, ending in tragedy. The name Wernzog, as well as his narrative style, is likely a nod to Herzog’s monumental work.

There is something almost satirical in the way that Duckumenory mimics Grizzly Man. Unlike a bear, Mr Flippers is a defenceless duck, and Joey is not risking his life to carry out observational research; he is simply a man with an unorthodox pet. Whilst there is some humour in this comparison, Duckumentary has a strangely alluring sincerity, keeping viewers’ focus away from the bizarreness of its subject matter, and rather invested in Joey Larson’s story.

Mr Flippers poses no threat to Joey Larson physically; rather, his vulnerability comes in the form of his attachment to the animal. Joey’s bond with the duck is what ends up hurting him ultimately, and leading him down a spiral of despair. Joey’s love for animals, particularly those who are injured and are in need of help, spreads beyond the duck species when he begins to take care of a raccoon who shares the area with Mr Flippers. Raccoons, according to the perspective that this documentary provides, have a deadly killer instinct. It is not clear whether this is driven by some form of emotional jealousy against species who are appreciated by humankind, or whether it is purely a pleasure to kill that cannot be reasoned in any other form than it being in their nature. Regardless, it is this violence that begins a huge turmoil in Joey, who begins to lose his sanity through his hatred of raccoons due to their killing habits.

There is a beautifully cinematic style to Duckumentary. The use of slow-motion footage and a chapter-based structure conveys the genre of poetry. Viewers may find themselves reminded of the epic poems, such as The Odyssey and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, through the way the documentary highlights the wrath of nature, as well as the way that choices made by humans, which may appear insignificant at first, can have a huge impact on the world around them. 

The documentary highlights the relevance of religion, and how often the result of an obsession is one dedicating their lives to a particular cause in the same way one does when enamoured with a God. As Timothy Treadwell’s love for bears led to his own destruction, in a way that he himself described as just and fair due to his adoration for the species, Larson’s affections for Mr. Flippers led him to his own spiral of despair, a rampage which will define his life from then on.