Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
This documentary is unique in its presentation and, for that matter, its subjects. From the opening titles of circus and elephants and wild animals the film has never a dull moment. Interspersed between the interviews with the documentary's subjects are other scenes that appear to have no bearing on what the persons on screen is saying but it soon becomes apparent that these seemingly disparate scenes are very relevant. Throughout the film there is excellent complementing music by Caleb Sampson.
The subjects themselves, though quite varied, have one big thing in common: they are 100% engrossed in their activity, never worrying about what anyone else will say or think. Dave Hoover is a lion tamer who believes he can understand what goes on in the minds of the lions he tames. This is the kind of thing Clyde Beatty propounded when he was the most famous wild animal trainer in the 1930s. Hoover not only wants to be "like" Beatty; he wants to "be" Beatty.
Rodney Brooks works at MIT where he is an expert on robots, particularly those that perform like insects. By the time he adds "eyes" for the robot to sense what is before it; adds "arms" and "hands" to reach out and grasp, the robots begin to look quite human. The uniqueness of these robots is that they move and maneuver without human guidance.
There is George Mendonca who became a topiary gardener when he started cutting privet and trees into animal shapes. This became his life's work.
Ray Mendez devotes his whole life to the study of mole-rats. As a child he belonged to an entomology club where members dreamed that one day they would find a world where people live like insects . . . whatever that means. When mole-rats are threatened, they are willing to let one of their group die if it will save the rest. With that kind of behavior, what chance do humans have of ever besting them; very little, it would appear.
Fascinatingly directed and edited, the thread that ties the segments together is that all four are about animal life and the different approaches each of the subjects took to fulfill a dream.
Directed by Errol Morris.
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Copyright 1997 Ben Hoffman
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