Proteus: A Nineteenth Century Vision (2004)

Absolutely Fantastic

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Not animated, just Ken Burns effect on a very large number of paintings, etchings, and drawings from the period (and a few filmed frames near the end). Not a story that is seen but one which is told. Explicitly. There is wall to wall narration. One or two different voices do rare readings of letters, etc. I can see how it's an interesting topic, but the scope was too broad, it stated things without walking us to them or backing them up, and it was overall not done well enough for me to really get into it. Lovely drawings of interesting creatures.

I entitled this review Unknown Worlds, not only because the film is about the first scientific exploration of the seas, but because it is also a peek into the history of science in the 19th century. Haeckel was the quintessential 19th man of science; he was fanatic, optimistic, talented, artistic and spiritual. A kind of Renaissance man. While we all know Darwin and Kraft-Ebbing, who were contemporaries, Haeckel has been forgotten, though in his lifetime he was as famous as Einstein. The film is visually stunning, and touches on related subjects such as the transatlantic cable. Haeckel's paintings of the undersea protozoa are both accurate and artful. A fun experience.

Proteus is a brilliant documentary which details the context and passions of a man driven by both scientific discipline and curiosity as well as his artistic ambitions. The focus on the scientific and artistic times surrounding Haekel's work in addition to the man and the work itself makes for several interesting history lessons. Lebrun's ability to tastefully weave in passages from Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" as well as his trademark animated montages (in this case of Haekel's otherworldly drawings) strengthens this film. The cinematography and visual editing of the movie is top notch and the (largely piano) music blends well.Proteus has reminded me of the distance of which a single human being can travel (literally and metaphorically) in a lifetime. I am inspired.

Wow. I stumbled upon this movies at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and was staggered by how good it was. The director talked after and it was so interesting to hear about how he created the film and did ALL the animation by hand! There are thousands of illustrations of this sea life that was discovered by the gentleman that the film is about and I had never even had an interest in marine life. But, it was realy interesting. Beautiful to look at and great music, too.