At a marine biology station, a clump of algae reveals polyps, stomachs with limbs, limbs with buds, buds with poison cells. This animal reproduces by buds, which we watch close up in time-lapse images. In another kind of jellyfish, the buds grow inside then live outside for a few days until being on their own. Another produces eggs, sometimes self-fertilized. Some single eggs become buds with colonies. Another clump gathered at low tide consists of filaments of a colony - plumes with poison ends. In images taking 72 hours, we see filaments grow and produce a feeding organ from which a plume emerges. New jellyfish emerge from buds twice a day at set times to form a new colonies.
Cinematography
72-hour time-lapses that make slime gorgeous.
Direction
Painlevé turns algae into cosmic horror.
Production
1960s marine lab = accidental aesthetic.
Director
Jean Painlevé
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jean Painlevé was the OG science-surrealist, making nature docs that feel like David Lynch went to marine biology school.
That 'stomachs with limbs' description? Painlevé deliberately wrote poetic, unsettling narration to make viewers uncomfortable with familiar life.
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