Nénette

Nénette is a lovely French (as in France) doco about a 40 year-old orangutan who has lived in captivity since her capture at age 3. it may not be for everyone, but some of you may remember that i studied primatology; this was, of course, right up my alley. i appreciated the slow and quiet development of the film, though at times even i found it hard to separate my eyelids. but overall i loved the gentleness of the film, and the opportunity to just watch, watch, watch this magnificent orangutan. i'm still not sure how i feel about animals in captivity, and while raising "those kinds of questions" does not appear to have been a central focus of this film, it is unavoidable, and i think broached masterfully. if you like great apes, you'll love this film.

it also screens with a short i was very, very interested in seeing: Los Maravillistas. alas, the screening times don't work with my schedule, and they did not play the short as part of the advance screening. le sigh..