Homo Sapiens

Each individual shot creates a frisson of desolation that resonates far beyond the facile irony suggested by the movie’s title.

A real yet illusory world is evoked so seamlessly that it also feels just one step away from pure cinematic fiction.

The fact that movies are a technology of motion makes them uniquely suited to capturing stillness; Geyrhalter takes full advantage, using vivid sound design and his own eye for striking static compositions to create haunting tableaux.

Instead of uncovering artifacts from long ago, Homo Sapiens shows us our own relics in the making.

Similar in form to the director’s previous nonfiction studies (Our Daily Bread, Over the Years), this wordless assemblage of fixed shots is as much a museum piece as it is a strictly art-house item, inviting viewers to sit back and let the imagery consume them.