More Than Honey

This film has a very rare 100% rating on 'Rotten Tomatoes' (just for comparison, 'Gravity' has 97%), which is one of the reasons I wanted to check it out. Another reason would be that it was recommended to me by people who are normally more into films like 'Die Hard' or 'Starship Troopers'. Now, having seen the movie, I can clearly see why that is.

This beautiful documentary has a lot more to offer than just information (as interesting, disturbing and educating said information definitely is); what you get here is also great, cinematic entertainment. There are characters in this film - the old beekeeper, for instance - which made me laugh out loud, and then there are moments of such breathtaking beauty I nearly cried.

And the cinematography - wow; just: wow! I don't know how they got to film the bees so close; if it was done with CGI or other computer tricks, the effects would certainly be Oscar-worthy. As far as I'm concerned, this masterpiece can compete with anything in the 'blockbuster' category that Hollywood has put out recently.

Great, informative entertainment and a visual feast, this film will make you see bees with different eyes. My vote: 10 out of 10.

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

This may sound excessively hyperbolic, but I'm actually pretty shameless when I say that "More Than Honey" is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Every good documentary's events are framed in some narrative form and "Honey" does not disappoint; the film deftly contrasts the bee farming practices of both American and European farmers. Director Markus Imhoof really managed to get some fantastic, heartfelt interviews from all sides of this issue. While the film certainly identifies potential causes as to why the bees are disappearing, it wisely refrains from ever vilifying them.

"More Than Honey" also works surprisingly well as a nature documentary, which I attribute entirely to its fantastic cinematography. The macro-photography ventures all the way inside bee hives to show them in their nature habitat, and really breathes excitement into some of the films slower parts. The narration is helpful and informative, allowing even a casual viewer to learn a thing or two about bees along the way. As Eric Kohn from Indiewire puts it: ""Makes a convincing argument for the role of bees sustaining both organic and industrial concerns…(an) effective melding of science and aesthetic delights." 10/10 stars.

This movie is like honey to your visual senses. With picturesque Switzerland in the background, it is shown how bees were kept in the past. And how nowadays massive commercial beekeeping takes place in North America. Like a traveling circus, the bees are shipped from one place to the next to pollinate flowers of various fruits and nuts with total disrespect. You can't help pity the poor creatures, as their owners can only think of money, and have no love.

This movie is a cinematographic masterpiece that tells you about the crises the bees are currently in. Colonies collapse without a clear reason. Like with the bio-industry, it makes you think that this is not the way to treat other animals, even if they are insects. Colony collapse? I think it's just the bees way of going on strike.

Today at work I was bombarded by texts from my best friend about the movie More than Honey. She's pre-vet and an animal activist in her free time, so the movies she watches normally alert me to a new threat to the animals in our eco-system. Half-way through her review I told her to save her thoughts till I got off work and we could go see it.

So after work we hurried down to the Cable Car Cinema to watch this German film about bees. By the end I was impressed and intrigued. More than Honey took a look at the diminishing bee population and the causes behind what seems to be the beginning of the end for this species. The movie also shows the effect the lack of bees is having on our environment and the worldwide agriculture industry. Drawing the audience in from the beginning with a quote from Einstein stating that if all the bees were to die off humans would be the next to go. From that moment you are sucked into the movie if not for your interest in bees but for your interest in survival. It was amazing to see how these insects play such a crucial role in our ecosystem.

Along with being very informative the creators of More Than Honey do a great job utilizing master-level cinematography to tell their story. The skills the director and camera men displayed in this movie are outstanding. Even if nature documentaries aren't your thing the artistry displayed in the filming is enough to keep you intrigued.

I think it's pretty certain that Albert Einstein did not say "If bees were to disappear from the globe, mankind would only have four years to live."

That's a bit emblematic of my feelings about this documentary. It's filled with a lot of stunning bee photography and genuinely engaging and weird facts about bees ... people transport live bees by mail you know ... but it's also weirdly lackadaisical. It's a lot of fun if you want to stare at bees for an hour and a half.

At the end (SPOILER, I guess) a whole hive of bees just ups and leaves, and their beekeeper can't do anything about it. That's awesome.