Documentary about the lifecycle and growth of the forest.

Picture gallery

Under the sharp gaze of Francis Hallé, a passionate botanist who shares the knowledge he’s gathered over the last 50 years of his career, Luc Jacquet guides the audience through the equatorial forest far off the beaten path – thank goodness, because nature has overgrown most of them. He bends down and takes the camera in closely to discover tiny seedlings that will eventually become the next forest in five decades. As they grow, the newly recruited soldiers of this army of wood have to go through a difficult struggle to defend themselves against the attacks by fauna, be it microscopic or huge. Immobile but very alive, the forest must implement strategies and illusions to meet the challenge of its environment in order to make it through a lifecycle that lasts many decades...

The narration is extremely didactic and spoken with emotion and a few doubts by this passionate man, who places himself in the setting to the point where he is part of the forest. Sometimes at the top of a tree, sometimes at its base, the scientist observes and sketches the vegetation in his notebook with the patience of an old sage. A report on the current state of our forests that is either alarming or reassuring, depending on whether you believe in mankind's ability to fix its mistakes or at least learn from them. Set to the rhythm of sap running, the pulse of this promenade through the growth of nature may put audiences slightly to sleep, one best taken in a hammock hung from the boughs of one of the green giants.