Slavko Martinov. New Zealand. 88 Min. More Info.
In the world of competitive chicken (or chook, as they so lovingly say in New Zealand) pageantry, there can only be one bird at the top. Members of the Christchurch Poultry, Bantam and Pigeon Club in New Zealand take their chickens very seriously. It’s an obsessive way of life. As one breeder says, “It’s like alcoholism. You just can’t give it up.”
It’s a clucking good time to see how everyone picks their best bird to enter in to the 2015 National Poultry Show. You have a vested interest in seeing which bird ends up winning Best in Show. But where Pecking Order falls short is trying to create conflict when it’s not necessarily the most interesting part of the subject matter. The politics of the Club is no doubt a pain point for many of the members, but for someone who may end up watching Pecking Order just to learn what competitive chicken pageantry is, it ends up being more distracting than informative.
Leave the foul play to the fowls and keep the political drama out of the chicken coop.
Rating: 4/10
Screening Times: Apr 29 – 4:15 PM, Apr 30 – 10:30 AM, May 6 – 10 AM