Microcosmos, le peuple de l’herbe

Are you prepared to go to a parallel universe, where our whole existence is turned upside down? I n that case, Microcosmos is the film for you. It takes us to the world of insects, which proves to be a cineast's dream: it is romantic, exciting, full of action and quite a few sex scenes. Everyone with an interest in film ought to keep names such as Dung-Beetles, Large Peacock Moth, and Bourgogne-snail in mind, because this is their brilliant film debut. Thanks to the biologists and wildlife filmmakers, Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou, we are offered a unique opportunity to visit an alternative reality; where the raindrops are as big as balloons from McDonalds and one day can equal a lifetime. After fifteen years of preparation, two years of searching for the right equipment, three years of filming and six months of editing, the life-time achievement of this French couple is finally ready. The result is a documentary where we experience the world at a scale that is reduced to centimeters and millimeters; and you do not have to be a lover of Nature to be impressed. Even for those of us who slept through biology classes in school, it is fascinating to watch the battle between two Stag beetles that are so big that they fill the whole screen. Most of us probably think that snails are disgusting, but when they meet in a tender embrace on a dewy lawn with langorous background music, we are surprised of how romantic they can be. Ladybirds skip the foreplay, and throw themselves at each other in close-up images that can make the most experienced filmgoer blush and cry out for censorship. One of the film's strengths is its humour, which is based on the fact that we somehow can recognize ourselves in it, for instance in the dung-beetle's struggle to get his ball of sheep dung off a thorn. At the same time, the film presents unique colour combinations and musical adventures. The extremely small is contrasted to tracking shots through clouds and pictures of the starry sky; it creates a dizzying perspective as micro- and macro cosmos merges into something unseparable. The film takes place from one dawn to the next, and during these 24 hours anything could happen. We do not have to listen to tiresome narrators and tedious scientific explanations. The purpose is not to point out biological facts, but to capture the life of the insects in a manner that has not been used before. At Cannes the film won a prize for best non-competitive film; and everyone with all interest in an extraordinary cinematic experience cannot miss a film like Microcosmos. PN