Look, I love nature documentaries, especially the ones from BBC, you can tell there's lots of work put into those productions to make them look the way they do. But then there's also productions like Seasons (2015), where you lean back and enjoy the scenery but soon realize that something's not completely right.
Adding people to this film, or rather actors, really rubbed me the wrong way. There's been good documentaries about humans and nature, like Human Planet (2011) - but here it became obvious pretty quick that there was a director behind the camera, directing not only the humans but also the animals in this film. And then to also try and make it historical with actors dressed like cavemen and farmers only made me squirm with embarrassment. I'm sure this would make a good film to show kids in school how life has been for animals through time, but as a film experience, I only felt awkward once it was over.
The photography and sound is great, amazing - no doubt about it, but it just doesn't matter when you feel that everything's staged, like when the text at the end shows up, that "No animals were harmed", you suddenly wondered why they even showed animals being killed by humans or died by gas. It's good that nobody was harmed or killed, but don't add it to the film at all if it's not real.
I saw this film back in 2015 when it was new and had given it a low rating without explanation, and I couldn't understand why, since I'd forgotten all about the film since. Re-watching it now after 5 years made me realize why, and with this review, I won't forget again.
Adding people to this film, or rather actors, really rubbed me the wrong way. There's been good documentaries about humans and nature, like Human Planet (2011) - but here it became obvious pretty quick that there was a director behind the camera, directing not only the humans but also the animals in this film. And then to also try and make it historical with actors dressed like cavemen and farmers only made me squirm with embarrassment. I'm sure this would make a good film to show kids in school how life has been for animals through time, but as a film experience, I only felt awkward once it was over.
The photography and sound is great, amazing - no doubt about it, but it just doesn't matter when you feel that everything's staged, like when the text at the end shows up, that "No animals were harmed", you suddenly wondered why they even showed animals being killed by humans or died by gas. It's good that nobody was harmed or killed, but don't add it to the film at all if it's not real.
I saw this film back in 2015 when it was new and had given it a low rating without explanation, and I couldn't understand why, since I'd forgotten all about the film since. Re-watching it now after 5 years made me realize why, and with this review, I won't forget again.