THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES (B-minus) - This study of the inner lives of trees feels like a lost opportunity. It could have been a big-screen visual poem and thought piece. Instead, it plays out like a PBS nature special stretched out from an hour to an hour and a half.
The film focuses on the research of Peter Wohlleben, whose 2015 book this is based on. He's an engaging presence, but he's no Bill Nye or Neil deGrasse Tyson. You'll probably learn a lot (trees apparently feel pain when a caterpillar nibbles at its leaves) but you might wonder why you left your house and paid money to see this attempt at stylizing an episode of "Nova." We get frequent time-lapse photography of shoots sprouting up, and we watch acorns descend to the ground in slow motion -- so stylized that it starts to feel unnatural.
Wohlleben's advocacy for forests -- urging that they be kept in their natural state -- is backed by convincing science. Filmmakers Jorg Adolph and Jan Haft encapsulate the dangers of the modern world when they depict a giant machine -- which snatches up an entire felled tree and proceeds to slice it into smaller sections -- as if it were an alien invader attacking Earth.
FANTASTIC FUNGI (2019) (B) - This earlier release shares a good deal of DNA with "The Hidden Life of Trees," but does a much better job of tossing a little magic into the mix. Still, it's a little too touchy-feely for its own good.
Once again we get umpteen shots of mushrooms blooming and an exploration of the communication among plants and other flora. Director Louie Schwartzberg dives headlong into his subject, celebrating the vast underground network of the mushroom world. The second half delves into the world of psychedelics. One subject tells the story of his first trip, experienced from the top of a tree during a thunderstorm. Schwartzberg also explores the medicinal benefits of mushroom therapy.
The beauty of this film is in the way that it ties together this idea of an underground network, a sort of internet of nature. It also compares the network to the human brain. With just enough new-age musings mixed with a grounded point-of-view, "Fungi" can be an enlightening trip.
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