FILM SCREENINGS

Zoo

1993. USA. Directed by Frederick Wiseman. Observers throughout the ages, from Aesop to Descartes to J. M. Coetzee, have attempted to divine and articulate the ways in which human nature is revealed in our treatment and regard of animals. Wiseman is among the most astute of these, in films like Primate (1974) and Belfast, Maine (1999), and in this poetic and wryly humorous portrait of the Miami Zoo. Zookeepers, veterinarians, and administrators all strive to uphold their noble-minded mission as custodians, scientists, and educators, while also grappling with the public’s seemingly innate and insatiable hunger for entertainment and spectacle. 130 min.