Microcosmos

Plot

Utilizing special macroscopic photographic techniques, filmmakers Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou created this fascinating and visually spectacular look at the hidden worlds in the life cycle of an ordinary meadow in France. When seen through the lens of Nuridsany and Perennou's cameras, insects become gigantic beasts, blades of grass turn into towering monuments, and raindrops form puddles that resemble vast oceans. The filmmakers find humor, drama, and beauty in the lives of these tiny flora and fauna as caterpillars transform themselves into butterflies, beetles struggle with their day's foraging, and snails reproduce their species. Microcosmos was a multiple prize winner at the 1996 French Academy of Cinema Awards; the American release version features narration by actress Kristin Scott Thomas. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

Microcosmos is light years beyond mere insect documentary, envisioning the daily existence of these tiny creatures as the stuff of full-blown opera. The unprecedented close-ups transform the mundane into the epic; the audience practically cheers after a scarab beetle succeeds at pushing his ball of dung up a hill, and swoons watching two snails entwined in a loving embrace. The augmentation of sounds also has visceral impact, as a pheasant picks off ants with the repetitive boom of a staple gun striking the earth. Intensifying this visual and aural odyssey is a gripping score, as well as narration (by Kristin Scott Thomas in the English version) that's both refreshingly scant and elegantly poetic. Because they mean this as breathtaking visual stimulus rather than teaching tool, directors Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou don't need to clog up the wonder with needless exposition. That raindrops are like traumatic bomb strikes to these tiny creatures is obvious; no disembodied egghead needs to spell things out. The viewer will simply gape at the grand dramas that unfold, prompting them to wonder just how many hours of footage the directors shot before mounting this compilation of elegiac moments. It's a truly groundbreaking technical achievement. Since it doesn't take much to get them interested in creepy-crawlies to begin with, children should love Microcosmos, even if its ambitions are artsier than they can comprehend. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast

Kristin Scott Thomas - Narrator (American Release); Marie-Josephe Yoyotte; Claude Nuridsany; Marie Perennou; Florence Ricard

Credit

Jean-Marc Henchoz - Co-producer, Claude Nuridsany - Director, Marie Perennou - Director, Marie-Josephe Yoyotte - Editor, Florence Ricard - Editor, Michel Faure - Executive Producer, Philippe Gautier - Executive Producer, Patrick Lancelot - Executive Producer, Andre Lazare - Executive Producer, Bruno Coulais - Composer (Music Score), Bruno Coulais - Songwriter, Claude Nuridsany - Camera Operator, Marie Perennou - Camera Operator, Hugues Ryffel - Cinematographer, Thierry Machado - Cinematographer, Jacques Perrin - Producer, Christophe Barratier - Producer, Yvette Mallet - Producer, Philippe Barbeau - Sound/Sound Designer, Bernard Le Roux - Sound/Sound Designer, Laurent Quaglio - Sound/Sound Designer

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