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I just ate cheese, er I mean. Umm. yeah. So this seems like a useless waste of time, that is watching this film. Wouldn't any animal develop what ways we might teach them to communicate if we were to steal them/it at birth?
The chimp-human connection is frequently subject to human arrogance, sometimes cloaked in love, other times defined by science, and often supported by stupidity. Project Nim has it all. It makes awful reality, but a great movie! This is definitely my favorite movie of the year... ummm, decade.... ahhh, how about so far this century? See it.
A fantastic movie. no scripted drama could do this story justice. HErt renching and hopeful a triumph. i
A 40 year old story that really comes across as silly by today's standards. Very poor directing. This movie looks like a cut-and-paste job, really. There was nothing to be learned, nothing that sheds a new light on today's mistreatment of animals, for example. Silly staff sexual inter-relationships get into this story and make the whole thing cheap and stupid.
Critic Reviews powered by Metacritic ™
Variety
A provocative and surprisingly emotional saga that ranges from wrenching to downright hilarious as it spans more than a quarter-century of unpredictable twists, "Nim" reaches far beyond mere scientific curiosity to become compelling human drama. Full Review
A.O. Scott
The New York Times
There is no doubt that Nim was exploited, and also no doubt that he was loved. Mr. Marsh, by allowing those closest to Nim plenty of room to explain themselves, examines the moral complexity of this story without didacticism. He allows the viewer, alternately appalled, touched and fascinated, to be snagged on some of its ethical thorns. Full Review
Amy Biancolli
San Francisco Chronicle
After watching Project Nim, a distressing portrait of a misguided 1970s language experiment, you'll be glad you're not a chimp in a cage. But you might want to revoke your membership in the human race, which comes across as a narcissistic, hedonistic, self-absorbed, neglectful, anthropomorphizing and arrogant bunch of hippie-dippy know-it-alls. Full Review
Andrew Schenker
Slant Magazine
To drive home the pathos of Nim's mistreatment, James Marsh frequently makes questionable use of the creature's apparent similarity to human beings, trading complex analysis for easy sentiment. Full Review
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
An absorbing, agonizing documentary about ambition, lust and anthropomorphism at their most heedless, records suffering and manipulation so extreme that description can barely do them justice. Full Review
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