Utilizing special macroscopic photographic techniques, filmmakers Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou created this fascinating and visually spectacular look at the hidden worlds in the life cycle of an ordinary meadow in France. When seen through the lens of Nuridsany and Perennou’s cameras, insects become gigantic beasts, blades of grass turn into towering monuments, and raindrops form puddles that resemble vast oceans.

The filmmakers find humor, drama, and beauty in the lives of these tiny flora and fauna as caterpillars transform themselves into butterflies, beetles struggle with their day’s foraging, and snails reproduce their species. Microcosmos was a multiple prize winner at the 1996 French Academy of Cinema Awards; the American release version features narration by actress Kristin Scott Thomas.

The U.S. distributor of this movie has foolishly decided to market it as a kid’s entertainment, in the apparent belief that no reasonable number of adults could possibly be interested, much less spellbound, by a beautifully written and narrated and vividly shot documentary about a fascinating and overlooked segment of the natural world.

In concept, content, and delivery, this title is heads and shoulders above the day-to-day fare regularly offered, and consumed by adults, on the cable television channels. (Barnes & Noble)

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Using revolutionary cameras, the directors of this French film (with minimal English-language narration) have made an amazing chronicle of the insect world. There are at least a dozen fascinating, memorable images, and the carnage is held to a minimum.

Some favorites include a caterpillar traffic jam, a frog’s bout with a rain storm, and a bird that turns into Godzilla for a bunch of ants. Then there’s the snail mating scene that must be seen to be believed. Great for families. MICROCOSMOS captures the fun and adventure of a spectacular hidden universe revealed in a breathtaking, close-up view unlike anything you’ve ever seen!

Your family will marvel at a pair of stag beetles dueling like titans. The kids will stare bug-eyed as a magnificent army of worker ants race to stock their larder … while tyring to avoid becoming a feisty pheasant’s dinner.

And you’ll have a front-row seat to witness an amazing transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, the remarkable birth of a mosquito, and several other minute miracles of life. With its tiny cast of thousands, MICROCOSMOS leaves no doubt that “Mother Nature remains the greatest special effects wizard of all” (New York Times). (Amazon)