film

If you’re in the right headspace, the whole thing is quite entrancing. Still, it’s also an extremely rarefied sort of entertainment; sparse and precise like Mungee herself.

A sound-and-light show presented as a straight documentary, but ultimately embracing that straightness.

It’s in transporting viewers into the heart of this jungle, where the moths calibrate the ecosystem, that Nocturnes most its most compelling case for protecting these exquisite creatures and our planet.

Dutta and Srinivasan’s understated approach shows research and nature in action without pretending to make a forest give up its secrets.

The film is uplifting in its understated optimism that understanding of the natural world driven by technology might accompany understanding of the divine.

Dutta and Srinivasan have effectively reverse-engineered an aesthetic approach from the basic concept at the heart of these entomologic studies, with sheets painted in light as the central object of allure for the moths, and for the audience.

Put it this way: If audiences don’t walk out of Nocturnes immediately googling “hawk moths,” they’ve simply been too temporarily dazzled to re-enter a world of fast-paced technology. That’s a good thing.

Nocturnes, an insightful documentary that hopes to whisper the poetry of such creatures to its audience, is an educational and compelling look at these curious insects.

A mesmerizing, fascinating and meditative nature documentary with breathtaking cinematography that makes for a cinematic experience.

The Delhi-based filmmaking duo of Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan have crafted a gorgeous visual poem you sink into like a warm bath -- even if the people onscreen frequently complain of cold.