Microcosmos (DVD)

Beauty comes in many forms. Some see it in paintings, some in flowers. The people who made Microcosmos saw the beauty in insects. And then they set out to show everyone else what it was that they saw. It's not a documentary - if you're expecting that you'll be disappointed. In fact there're very little talking at all, and what there is is in French. But what there is is beautiful camera work - insects captured in amazing detail - set to music. This film is impossible to half-watch. I've tried to have it on as background noise before, and every time I put my laptop down to watch it properly. It's just too beautiful to not pay attention ...

Microcosmos (1996) was directed, filmed and edited by Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou, 2 French scientists. The cast includes ladybirds, Swallow-tail butterflies, Long-tailed caterpillars, Burgundy snails, Red ants, Stag beetles and many more. The soundtrack is original music composed and orchestrated by Bruno Coulais which was released on CD in the same year. I have included both the film and its soundtrack because for me they are inseparable in a way that film and its music should be (but more on the soundtrack later). This gentle but mesmerizing film took 5 years to make: 2 years were spent designing the lighting and the ‘micro-cameras’ for ...