Hot Docs Reaction: NÉNETTE

One of the best parts of attending a film festival is the way you get to see films you might not have otherwise seen…and might not ever have the chance to see again. Case in point, NÉNETTE – the film that has its audience staring at an Orangutan for seventy minutes. I can see that playing in the same multiplex as IRON MAN, can’t you?

Our hero, the titular Nénette, lives in a French zoo. For this doc, the filmmakers have locked off cameras to record her and her fellow orangutans during various parts of their day. Yes folks, all you ever see in this film is primates. No visitors, no zookeepers, no talking heads of any kind. However, we do hear these people as they come and go through the oragutan exhibit. We listen to them talk, while watching Nénette’s actions and expressions. Together it combines for an avant garde documentary experience.

Watching Nénette’s expressions, one is left to wonder whether or not she knows that we’re talking about her? Is she saddened by the way we observe her, or does she even care?? Much happens in her daily routine – protests are organized, schools teach their students, couples come through on dates, and artists sketch her meticulously. The existential theme of this film leads us to wonder how she would react to such happenings if there wasn’t a pane of glass between them and her.

Listening to people talk while watching the animals melancholy expression make for a very sad and thoughtful film. What we hear ranges from the witty (“Not much space” “Well, rent in Paris is quite high.”) to the introspective (“I wonder if she misses her country. I miss mine.”). Then there are long moments when we don’t hear anyone saying a thing, and instead a whimsical oboe score takes over. While unforgettable and wickedly original, this film is somewhat trying and unsettling. It contains images that are eerie, endearing, and enticing…but it does it all with demanding a higher degree of patience than most films do.

NÉNETTE plays tonight at 7 pm, and again on Saturday May 8th at 4:30pm. Both screenings are at Isabel Bader Theatre