May 2, 2002 -- You wouldn't think that a circus animal trainer, a guy who studies hairless African mole rats, a robotic scientist and a topiary gardener would have anything in common. You'd be wrong. They are the subject of a fascinating meditation on the human and robotic conditions. It is the perfect companion piece to Steven Spielberg's "A.I."

This is the kind of movie I would make if I was genius like Errol Morris ("A Brief History of Time"). Morris puts these four disparate characters together into one film, cutting back and forth, sometimes overlapping the sound of one interview with the image of another, to make penetrating observations about the nature of humanity. What is it to be human? What is consciousness? Do robots have self-awareness? Do Animals? What is it with this Quixotic human urge to conquer nature? These are nothing less than the central questions of philosophy and religion. In addition to the interviews, Morris also uses footage from old Republic serial films, Movitone newsreels and cartoons to further fill out the story. In addition to 35-millimeter film, color and black and white 16 mm and Super-8 mm film and video transfer images are also used. The film must have been a nightmare to edit. Kudos to film editors Shondra Merrill and Karen Schmeer.

The central theme of the film hangs together very well, despite the enormous complexity of editing together such disparate elements, ideas and characters. The main characters are: Dave Hoover, wild animal trainer, George Mendonça, topiary gardener, Ray Mendez, mole-rat researcher, Rodney Brooks, robot scientist. Hoover works with lions and tigers in a circus act. Mendonça tends a big garden at a huge estate in Rhode Island, creating "Green Animals" out of living plants with a pair of ordinary garden shears. Mendez works with mole-rats, a rare, hairless, underground, blind rat species which has a rigid social structure like those of ants, termites and bees. Brooks builds insect-like robots that he hopes in the future will develop consciousness and will go on to explore Mars, among other places.

The common theme that binds these men together is not apparent at first, but it soon starts taking shape. Hoover and Mendonça are attempting to impose their wills upon nature, while Mendez seeks to understand nature and connect with it. Brooks, the final stage of this evolution, hopes to create a new, silicon-based form of life. Maybe carbon-based life is on the way out, Brooks muses, to be replaced by the next step in the evolutionary process. Hoover and Mendonça represent the old guard, a philosophy in which nature was something to be conquered. Mendez is the observer of nature, the bridge between the past and future. Brooks is looking to the future, to a time when a new form of life takes over.

Hoover and Mendonça are on their way out. Hoover's hero, Clyde Beatty, lion tamer and movie hero, is dead and Hoover himself is in semi-retirement. He says there will never be another Beatty. His time is gone. He watches as a young woman takes over his circus act, but it is hard to watch. He'd rather be in the ring with the tigers. Mendonça can't find an understudy to take over for him when he retires or dies, and he is nearing the end of his life. It takes years to form some of his creations, and they can be destroyed in a day. Still, he presists, cutting every day with his shears, trying to hold back the natural growth of the privet and boxwood. A beautiful shot by cinematographer Robert Richardson ("Snow Falling on Cedars") shows Mendonça walking off into his garden in the rain and fog, as if in a final exit. Mendez, in his own way, questions the future of humans. He observes that mole rats will sacrifice some to save the rest. That is the way of the insect. Humans would risk all to save those few in danger. That is the human way.

Brooks seems to think that the time of humans, all carbon-based life forms, really, is nearing its end. In what Morris sees as the ultimate act of hubris, Brooks is trying to create a new form of life, insect-like robots that can interact with each other and with the environment, with no pre-programmed instructions from humans. The robots look and act much like insects. Brooks wonders if they can develop a kind of consciousness, something that is often considered a human trait. Brooks wonders if there is really all that much difference between humans, animals and his robots. This theme is also explored by Mendez and Hoover. Both men see animals in human terms. Mendez uses his animal observations to discover more about himself and humans in general. Hoover seeks to think like an animal in order to anticipate what the lions and tigers will do next. The big cats are always trying to figure out ways to attack him, Hoover says, and he must stay one step ahead of their plans in order to survive. He lives because he fears the cats and he knows he cannot afford to show them any weakness.

One of the strengths of this film is that it does not stand in judgement of these four men. It gives them all a fair hearing. It also makes unexpected connections between these four, very different lives without falling apart at the seams. It hangs together, just barely, but it does manage to stay in one piece. That, in itself, is a remarkable achievement. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.