Review of Nénette (2010) by Kenny B — 03 Feb 2011

Swiftly establishes itself as something of an exercise in watching, and a studiedly neutral one at that, not so far removed from logging into a zoo's live webcam feed for an hour or so. You could use it as an opportunity to admire the ape's natural beauty at close-ish quarters; you could - as one of the observers does late on - use NÃ (C)nette's status as a stick with which to beat the anti-captivity drum, though Philibert seems to add this perspective only as an afterthought.

You could even - as I did - come to wish Philibert had dropped the pretence of total objectivity, got in the cage with his subject, and started to mix his gawping up a bit. As far as the star turn is concerned, NÃ (C)nette holds our gaze perfectly well for the running time, appears animated whenever the crowd swells, and at other times, prone to sudden slumps and depressions.

(In this, she would seem the consummate entertainer.) Yet this, too, is but mere projection, and perhaps only a naturalist of the Dian Fossey/Jane Goodall school would be able to tell if NÃ (C)nette wasn't just reflecting or imitating that which had been installed in front of her, or was wholly indifferent to the process of filming.

In NÃ (C)nette, evolution counts for naught: just as Philibert asserts his right to plonk down his camera and shoot yards and yards of footage, so too the monkey retains hers to stare blankly, unrevealingly back at us.