THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 1, 1997 TAG: 9701310049
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: 66 lines
ALTHOUGH ``Microcosmos,'' the stunning new documentary, concerns insects, it has a way of making you feel small. It suggests, quite convincingly, that there is another world, or worlds, out there and that humans are not so unique after all. Before you start thinking you're so smart (and can finally program the VCR), here's a reminder that you're just another species, with the same instincts as the others.
``Microcosmos,'' which was a hit at the Montreal World Film Festival, has all the relaxing, cajoling charm of an afternoon in the country, but with none of the discomfort. You still won't invite ants to your next rustic picnic but, at the least, you might respect the little workers a bit more.
Filmed by former biologists Claude Nuridow and Marie Perennou, this one has more close-ups, EXTREME close-ups, than Lana Turner or Ava Gardner ever thought about getting. The cast includes such varied beings as a ladybug with seven spots, a swallow-tail butterfly, a long-tailed butterfly, red ants, wasps, water spiders, dragon-flies, stag beetles.
The metamorphosis of the cousin mosquito is a special effect that even Stephen Spielberg would have had trouble recreating.
For suspense there's the sacred beetle trying to roll a dung heap uphill. Will he make it or not. He backs up. He makes strategic choices. We urge him on.
Then there's the slimy lovemaking of the Burgundy snails. Sloppy to say the least.
And didn't the censors notice what those beetles were doing? They gave it a G rating anyway. These bugs, apparently, can do anything and still get a G.
There's violence too - a battle to the death, or close, between two things that look like some form of grasshopper.
Filmed in a French meadow over three years, the film is unique - and puts those TV nature documentaries to shame. It, however, is not better, lacking the humor of those classic Walt Disney ``True Life Adventures'' that were in theaters four decades ago (and always won Oscars).
It is both a plus and a minus that the film is virtually narration-less. The lack of talking gives us time to relax and truly get into the hypnotic flavor of observation. There is no talk, except for an opening and closing narration, spoken by Kristin Scott Thomas of ``The English Patient.'' There is an operatic aria and there are sound effects. (They'll never make us believe ants' movement makes that much noise in reality). A rain shower becomes a torrent of flood.
Little things mean a lot, but the lack of narration also means you often don't know what you're seeing. It won't matter. With the Disney studio foregoing this art form for so many years, this type documentary is a novelty again - purely a sensory experience. ILLUSTRATION: MIRAMAX photo
``Microcosmos'' is a love story for these Burgandy snails.
MOVIE REVIEW
``Microcosmos''
Cast: ladybird, swallow-tail butterfly, climbing caterpillar,
bee, Burgundy snails, water spiders, rhinoceros beetle, great
peacock moth
Directors: Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou
Music: Bruno Coulais
MPAA rating: G (But didn't they notice what those beetles were
doing? And all the violence?)
Mal's rating: 2 1/2 stars
Location: Naro in Norfolk