Grab your tissues and prepare to have your heart stolen by delicate yet fierce creatures in Every Little Thing. Directed by Sally Aitken and inspired by Fastest Things on Wings (written by hummingbird rehabilitator Terry Masear), this inspirational and moving documentary focuses on one cycle of hummingbird rescues. The sorrow and joy of watching these tiny birds go from sick and injured to, in the best-case scenario, being set free to thrive in the wild is told with a loving touch and truly astounding cinematography.
Masear has been rescuing hummingbirds in Southern California since 2004. During that period, she’s come to understand these gorgeous little birds in a way not many people can. With the most delicate of touches and a soothing voice, Masear assures the tiny creatures that they are safe and that she’ll do everything in her power to set them up for success in the wild.
Rescuers, or as she calls them, “finders,” reach out daily during peak hummingbird season (April through July), and Terry dispenses no-nonsense advice. She delivers instructions without sugarcoating the potential outcomes, warning the finders of the fragility of these beautiful birds. If she and the finders don’t do everything right, these damaged, injured, and sick birds will die.
The film allows us an up close and personal look at not only the birds but also at what makes Terry Masear tick. Every Little Thing briefly touches on horrific traumas in Masear’s past and on the incredible relationship Terry shared with the love of her life, her husband Frank – a rebel and renaissance man. They were together for 33 years, but now her tiny patients are her family.
However, Terry insists she’s not lonely; she still feels Frank’s presence.
Perhaps it’s her own personal traumas that make Masear the perfect person to rehabilitate the most delicate of creatures. As she notes, everything the little birds go through, people go through. And Masear has an incredible ability to empathize with the injuries suffered by these birds through no fault of their own.
Masear views these birds as her children, and although it’s emotionally hazardous to get attached, she forms bonds with the little hummers. The love she feels for these wounded birds is clear in how she describes their individual personalities and characteristics.
Jimmy, a baby who fell out of his nest, is a real character who shows off for the camera, and Masear refers to him as a maniac who she’s sure will succeed in the wild because he’s a real tyrant. Masear’s decades-long experience working with these birds allows her to quickly assess and cater to the specific needs of other featured rescued birds, including Wasabi, the Sidney Twins, Charlie, Cactus, Sugar Baby, Raisin, and the adorable couple Mikhail & Alexa. The results aren’t always pretty, but even in death Masear makes sure these birds know they were loved.
As Masear points out, when people see a hurt or downed hummingbird, it’s difficult to remain detached. “How can anything spin its wings 50 times per second and not tap into some magical realism?” asks Terry.
Hummingbirds live in the moment, and although they look frail, their instincts tell them to eliminate the competition. She calls them warriors, an unusual yet appropriate description of the tiny birds. But for these hummers to have a chance to become masters of their chosen territories, they need a human warrior who’ll move heaven and earth to give them that opportunity. Masear is that hero for Southern California hummingbirds.
Every Little Thing’s unexpectedly emotional journey leaves audiences hopeful about the continuing success of hummingbirds and about humanity’s goodness. “Our curse as humans is that we need to know the things we do matter,” says Masear. This beautiful, uplifting film shows that, in Masear’s words, the compassion that goes into saving a bird is what matters.
GRADE: A
Running Time: 93 minutes
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Every Little Thing screened as part of the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
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