Diatoms (1968) Poster

(1968)

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9/10
Authority Says: I Don't Know
boblipton9 September 2018
When he made this movie, Jean Painlevé had been involved with movies for more than forty years. He had made dozens, possibly hundreds of movies, many of them about the weird, tiny creatures that inhabit the seas, their odd (to us) life cycles. When sound came in he had narrated themselves in a professorial manner, often with a dark sense of humor and awe at the grace and beauty in he saw in them. This one is different.

It is a dialogue conducted with Carola Meierrose, in which she talks about what she sees and asks questions and he answers those questions.... and often the answer works out to "I don't know." After which, occasionally Mme. Meierrose offers her own comments on the increasingly alien images.

For some one looking for answers, it may not be interesting, but for some one looking for truth, it's an exciting answer. Far too many people are looking for the right answer, be it in a book, or a lecture or on a movie or television screen. It may be a good way to pass a test, but what if the answer you are given is wrong?
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4/10
Very, possibly too, specific
Horst_In_Translation26 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Diatomées" is an almost 50-year-old film by French nature documentary filmmaker Jean Painlevè. The inclusion of color once again tells you that he made this one not in his early, most prolific years as a filmmaker, but later in his career. The topic is a very difficult one here though and this may very well be where he lost me. It is about diatoms and even if the female narrator tries to make it an interesting watch for people who know nothing about the subject, it still says a very scientific film, possibly one that should really only be seen by scientists. The ending is very sci-fi once again with the music and with the action we see that looks like a dark sky. I am not sure about the runtime here on IMDb. I believe this little film is considerably longer than 17 minutes. I cannot recommend this documentary. At least not to general audiences. Thumbs down.
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