Genesis

This is a documentary that covers from the Big Bang through the evolution and life cycles of complex animals. That alone wouldn't make Genesis very unique--there are tens of documentaries, most made for television, which cover all or some of the same material.

However, one of the unique aspects of Genesis is that it features "narration" by Sotigui Kouyaté, a veteran West African actor. Kouyaté appears on camera often, in a part that seems halfway between a dramatic monologue and the traditional hosting of such documentaries, usually by academics of some stripe. The text that Kouyaté reads, which was written by directors Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou, is much more poetic and philosophical than the narration that normally accompanies this type of documentary. That has benefits, and Kouyaté tends to come across as a less manic human counterpart to The Lion King's (1994) Rafiki, but it also has problems if you read the film strictly as a documentary, as a lot of the scientific information and philosophical ideas are either incorrect or not very well thought out.

However, when covering such a wide swathe of existence, you can hardly expect narration to bog down in fine-grained, sometimes controversial points, and as suggested by the Rafiki comparison, I think it's not quite right to read Genesis strictly as a documentary. Nuridsany and Pérennou shoot for and achieve a film that very effectively conveys an intuitive understanding of holistic or panentheistic philosophical and spiritual views and shows how well they can mesh with current scientific understanding.

But aside from the above, and that is important and subtle material, what really gives Genesis an edge and what makes it crucial viewing to anyone with an interest in these kinds of documentaries is the fantastic cinematography. Other than another film from the same team, Microcosmos: Le peuple de l'herbe (1996), I don't think I've ever seen footage of animals shot as well as this, and I've only rarely seen footage of geology and inanimate objects shoot as well as this. The cinematography features amazing close-ups, crisp images, seamless time-lapse photography, impressive footage (you'll often wonder how they could have obtained some of these shots), and often-brilliant editing. At times the film resembles a collage of abstract artwork as much as a documentary, and the editing helps make the holistic/panentheistic view clear.

Long sections of the film are narration-free. Instead, the cinematography is accompanied by music, so at times, Genesis almost resembles the Godfrey Reggio/Philip Glass film Anima Mundi (1992). At least at one point, the music actually sounds Glass-like. The only slightly distracting element of the soundtrack is that Nuridsany and Pérennou decided to add foley sound effects to many scenes. Occasionally they enhance the visuals, but sometimes they're overdone.

This is a beautifully conceived, artistic myth about origin and cycle of life as told by an African storyteller in beautifully enunciated French (English subtitles). His myth is illustrated with nature photography that is both appropriate for the particular thought and, simultaneously, of great beauty. Over six years of patient work assembled this material by the co-directors who are also professional biologists. As a consequence, their myth rests solidly in modern science. Their venues range from Iceland (the opening shots) to Madagascar (for the brilliantly colored shots of marine life). This wonderfully conceived film is underpinned by an original score which complements the photography and is wonderfully innovative. I hope a video becomes available.

This movie is a quiet and meditative work of art. At first I thought it would be something like a school movie about evolution, but it turned out as a work of plainly contemplative (at some points almost voyeuristique) piece of art. The movie will disappoint people who expect a plot line. It comes rather along like a slideshow, intriguingly framed by Bruno Coulais' experimental soundtrack (which, however, gets out of hand at the end). Beautiful colourful macro pictures. The movie's best actor, the mudskipper, almost gives you the impression that you are being watched by the movie. A joyful avantgarde experience. For those who enjoy little offstream movies.

This film boldly undertakes to tell the story of life from the Big Bang to the variety of species that we know today. And the history lesson becomes a fairy tale.

Genesis asks that you leave aside everything you know about yourself, and think of your body as the substance that makes up the universe, your life as the energy that sparkled up the Big Bang, your projects as a shape, a limited space of organized chaos, resisting the deterioration of time.

The film is breath-taking and captivating from the opening sequence to the last shot. Every image of the film is carefully selected and placed in a sequence: swirling dirt becomes a galaxy; rings of water float on the sound of the mating dance. The technological prowess of the filming is staggering, but does not surpass the ingenuity of the editing, and camera movements: shot in his apparent loneliness, the insect looks like a genius, solving obstacles one after the other. Human meaning is attached to all images shown, from the fish pretending to be daydreaming while baiting its prey, to the crawling crab signaling to a rival. The story of the earth is told by the reality of those jungles and tropical beaches, that we know so little about: swimming frogs start to hop; the giant tortoise becomes a dinosaur.

If you think this is going to be some kind of Discovery Channel show, think again and surprise yourself.

a simple story ties together beautifully-filmed vignettes about birth, life, love, battle and death.

shot in iceland, madagascar, the galapagos islands and in the producers' own labs, the film features spectacular and surprising detail about nearly-prehistoric animals.

this film is suitable for young children wanting to learn about life, as well as for adults looking for visual proof of natural diversity. I enjoyed it greatly for its colour, its details and the stunning actions that it depicts.

I will never look at a rattlesnake quite the same way again...