Les saisons

I watched this movie with my grandmother and she was entertained. So was I, but for different reasons. She enjoyed looking at cute animals, while I was bust being impressed at the amazing cinematography. The ways that the filmmakers managed to get all the shots that are in this movie is incredible. Yes, this movie doesn't have much structure other than that there are seasons, but it doesn't need any. If you're a fan of animals and spectacular cinematography, you're going to get a lot out of this move.

This is basically just a bunch of animals freaking out in the forest. And it's one of the most mesmerizing, fascinating, beautiful things you'll ever see.

Then humans come and mess it all up. But you already knew this.

But the way it's told is just gorgeous. Even the most superficial city-dwelling leftwinger wouldn't be able to argue with the arc of wildlife's struggle to survive in the wake of man as it's told here.

The footage in this film is breathtaking. You'll twist your brain trying to figure out how they got some of it. Mind-blowing. And gorgeous. Simply incredible.

Stunning and beautiful nature photography. If you keep one question playing in your mind throughout the film, you will be as much in awe as I was. The question: "How do they get footage like this"? One scene (of many) comes to mind: a pack of wolves unsuccessfully chase wild horses through the forest. The camera follows this high-speed chase at ground level through the trees as fast as these animals can run, all the while as though the camera were on a railroad track. I considered drones, but there is no way that the diverse wildlife would tolerate the noise and intrusion. So I'm left wondering, and in awe of the skills of these people. I'm sure you will be as appreciative as I am.

This is basically just a bunch of animals freaking out in the forest. And it's one of the most mesmerizing, fascinating, beautiful things you'll ever see.

Then humans come and mess it all up. But you already knew this.

But the way it's told is just gorgeous. Even the most ardent nature-hating right-winger wouldn't be able to argue with the arc of wildlife's struggle to survive in the wake of man as it's told here.

The footage in this film is breathtaking. You'll twist your brain trying to figure out how they got some of it. Mind-blowing. And gorgeous. Simply incredible.

Look, I love nature documentaries, especially the ones from BBC, you can tell there's lots of work put into those productions to make them look the way they do. But then there's also productions like Seasons (2015), where you lean back and enjoy the scenery but soon realize that something's not completely right.

Adding people to this film, or rather actors, really rubbed me the wrong way. There's been good documentaries about humans and nature, like Human Planet (2011) - but here it became obvious pretty quick that there was a director behind the camera, directing not only the humans but also the animals in this film. And then to also try and make it historical with actors dressed like cavemen and farmers only made me squirm with embarrassment. I'm sure this would make a good film to show kids in school how life has been for animals through time, but as a film experience, I only felt awkward once it was over.

The photography and sound is great, amazing - no doubt about it, but it just doesn't matter when you feel that everything's staged, like when the text at the end shows up, that "No animals were harmed", you suddenly wondered why they even showed animals being killed by humans or died by gas. It's good that nobody was harmed or killed, but don't add it to the film at all if it's not real.

I saw this film back in 2015 when it was new and had given it a low rating without explanation, and I couldn't understand why, since I'd forgotten all about the film since. Re-watching it now after 5 years made me realize why, and with this review, I won't forget again.