There is a beautifully written but short introduction and epilogue, read by Kristin Scott Thomas, and a score by Bruno Coulais, which consists mostly of vocal music, sung by mezzo Mari Kobayashi, and the charming young voices of Hugo and Louis Coulais; much of the film is in silence however, with just the sound of the insects.
A visual feast that is the creation of the Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou, who share credits as director/writer/cinematographer, and additional cinematography was done by Thierry Machado and Hugues Ruffel.
Total running time is 80 minutes, and you will never look at a lowly snail in the same way again.


Mesmerising, beautiful, astonishing   June 24, 2004
 23 out of 23 found this review helpful

In similar vein to Reggio's seminal Koyaanisqatsi, Microcosmos is a film without commentary, other than a one-sentence introduction and a few poetic words at the close.
It presents the viewer with a gorgeous series of tableaux starring the amazing micro-fauna resident in a meadow. I guarantee the first thing that springs to mind when viewing Microcosmos for the first time is "how did they film that?!!" Achingly beautiful close-ups of ants, caterpillars, butterflies, snails, ladybirds, the bizarrely alien-looking mantis and dozens more give us an unique insight into the oft-ignored world beneath our feet.

The whole 72 minutes is one great therapeutic trip - just sit in your comfiest chair and let the vivid colours and sumptuous sound (natural insect noises occasionally punctuated with minimalist ambient music) wash over you.

Favourite scenes include the sissyphus-like dung-beetle, the ants at the "waterhole", the snail lovers, the spider's "aqualung", the stag beetles' battle and the jaw-droppingly stunning finale of the nascent mosquito breaking free of the meniscus of the pond on its impossibly long legs. Even the moment of microcosmic horror, when a strangely prehistoric looking pheasant perpetrates some genocide, is magnificently filmed and utterly satisfying.

Possibly the first wildlife film to cross the boundary into pure art.

I guarantee you will feel a better and more harmonious person for having viewed Microcosmos.


A look at nature, how it should be done   November 4, 2003
 12 out of 15 found this review helpful

This DVD shows how life is beneath the tips of grass... from the eyes of ants, spiders, bugs... how they experience a raindrop, a mudpool, the lenght of one day is one season, the length of one season is often a lifetime.

I like this movie because there aren't any comments, no human voice or anything, just images and sounds of nature. This is how a naturemovie must be like and not like all those National Geographic documentaries with a voice telling what happens on screen.

I love it


no naration, no comentary, just moving pictures   August 17, 2003
 9 out of 30 found this review helpful

this dvd shows life in a medow, from the point of view of mini-beasts. There is some good photography, however there is no dialog at all, no naration, no comments, no words, just moving pictures and background music. this is not a documentary, it is just a visual view of what is happening in a medow.