Though it was originally released more than a decade ago, the astonishing beauty of “Galapagos” remains absolute.
The human component of the film, Dr. Carole Baldwin, a marine biologist from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, and her team, directs viewers to some of the islands’ most majestic sights, allowing the camera to tell much of the story of this paradise 600 miles off the western coast of South America.
Stately lizards peer placidly into the lens, seemingly ready to spill their most important secrets. A moss-covered Galapagos tortoise – exclusive to the islands and able to live more than 100 years – churns through grass like a tanker. And tide pools full of chatty sea lion pups will make you long to slap on a wet suit and join in their sun-dappled fun.
Baldwin sought to trace Charles Darwin’s journey in 1835 – an exploratory mission that led to the development of his theory of natural selection in “The Origin of the Species” – and its emergence at Fernbank coincides with the Sept. 24 opening of the museum’s Darwin exhibit.
It’s impossible to pinpoint the most striking visuals in “Galapagos.” When your choices include an army of land iguanas basking in the sun on black lava rocks and schools of fish so dense they black out the screen, how could you possibly decide? Even those aggressive moray eels, hissing and snapping at Baldwin like curious vipers, are intriguing, if creepy.
But when Baldwin and her fellow scientists descend 3,000 feet under water in a groovy-looking deep sea exploration capsule, you’ll wish Disney imagineers would invent a fake version to simulate a fraction of what was surely a breathtaking experience.
The highlight of the quick film – narrated by Kenneth Branagh -- comes when a vacuum attached to the capsule sucks up unusual species for Baldwin to later study. Though it would have been enlightening to hear more about what they were and their characteristics, it’s nearly sufficient getting a few glances at their cartoon-ready features.
But still, that our curiosity about new and unusual creatures remains unsated means that it might be time for an updated film.
Movie review
“Galapagos”
Directed by David Clark and Al Giddings. Unrated. At Imax Theatre at Fernbank Museum of Natural History (through Jan. 1). Running time: 39 minutes.
