This event has passed.

Film: Documentary

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

  • Beetle_queen_large

        

Venue_writeup_open_quotes

Near the end of Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo -- a mesmerizing film-essay documentary about Japan's enduring love affair with bugs -- the narrator states, "Insects, in their miniscule being, represent the entire history of a culture." It's no ponderous claim, either, as Beetle Queen draws convincing parallels between an insect-crazed modern nation and its ancient customs. Eighth-century philosophy, Buddhism, Zen and bonsai gardens, Japan's hallowed rice fields: all these things provide surprising context. Images that might have seemed foreign (Japanese children playing with giant beetles and netting video-game dragonflies) suddenly feel like a national heritage being played out. By the film's end, director Jessica Oreck's poetic visuals have instilled the same sense of marvel in the viewer as they chronicle in their subjects.

Venue_writeup_close_quotes - Stephen Gossett
350 Characters Remaining
Join