Microcosmos

The movie is a work of art and whimsy as much as one of science. Read full review

Microcosmos is that rare film to lead us, to reiterate why the camera is just as important as the paintbrush, keyboard, pen, chunks of clay, and anything else that can be used to make art. This is art. Read full review

An extraordinary entertainment that personalizes the world of insects and other invertebrates and leaves audiences with an itching conviction of the poetry of nature. Read full review

Microcosmos is a microspectacular. [08 Nov 1996, p.C6]

This astonishingly beautiful documentary employs microphotography of overpowering crispness and detail to create one of the most stunning records of nature the cinema has given us. [11 Oct 1996, p.J]

Nothing short of amazing. [25 Oct 1996, p.13]

A strange but compelling documentary. [08 Nov 1996, p.4E]

The revelation of Microcosmos isn’t just that the insect world has a complex and stirring order — it’s how close these bugs come to having minds. Read full review

Scales glisten, legs scuttle, antennae unfurl, all in a symphony of exquisite shapes and inhuman motion. Watching the movie is like peering into a living kaleidoscope. Read full review

After watching Microcosmos, it will be impossible to take a walk in the woods without being aware of the amazing tapestry of activity going on all around, yet out of sight. Read full review

The movie is magnificent and stunning the way few spectator events are. Read full review

Microcosmos is a Zen version of an old Disney True-Life feature: the hokum and phony palaver of those '50s pics supplanted by a wide-eyed sense of wonder. [08 Nov 1996, p.05]

A soothing 76-minute respite from the noisy clutter of Hollywood's holiday-oriented movies, Microcosmos invites us to "fall silent" while it shows us the spectacularly exotic sights of a world almost beneath our notice, where "time passes differently." [22 Nov 1996]

Excitingly edited and evocatively scored, Microcosmos adapts big filmmaking techniques to tiny creatures. You get thrills, slapstick and even romance. [11 Nov 1996]

It may well be the ultimate family picture of this or any year. [22 Nov 1996, p.D2]

By shunning the clinical mumbo-jumbo, the movie allows the viewer's imagination to fill in the gaps, making Microcosmos a delightfully entertaining -- and often hilarious -- celebration of nature. [27 Nov 1996, p.4D]

A tour de force of photography, editing, scoring and, most of all, patience; less a science documentary than a window on a breathtaking world. [22 Nov 1996, p.31]

The spectacle is absolutely enthralling, and even a bit frightening. Read full review

A feature documentary about a day in the life of the bug universe, Microcosmos is a surprisingly entertaining, visually stunning treat. Read full review

Beautiful and original. Read full review

Unless the viewer has ever been inside an anthill, Microcosmos is sure to reveal a strange and transfixing secret universe, one in which even the physics of splashing raindrops looks suddenly new. Read full review

On one level, Microcosmos is the strangest act of voyeurism ever recorded, with bugs caught au naturel, eating, working, metamorphosing. We're even treated to a steamy scene of unexpurgated snail sex. When this couple gets together, it redefines intimacy and stick-to-itiveness. On another level, the film is a spectacle and celebration of life, in all its phases. [11 Oct 1996, p.F15]

Microcosmos is more about reverie than revelation. Still, don't be surprised if you come away from it with that feeling, like the aftermath of a deep, strange dream, that your consciousness has been enlarged in a subtle but very real way. Read full review

A stunning documentary that examines life at the ground level in a patch of banally pretty but otherwise nondescript French meadow. [27 Nov 1996]

The film powerfully demonstrates the diversity, the adaptability, the resilience of the insect world. The rest of the animal kingdom (including man) may be on the brink of extinction, but these little guys are thriving. [22 Nov 1996]

The footage is often fascinating, but when it comes to anthropomorphism I prefer the Disney live-action adventures. Read full review