Educational Media Reviews Online

The speculative fiction of Jules Verne has inspired a variety of explorers, adventurers, and artists. Director Patricio Guzmán narrates the general influence Verne's work has had on his own life as a frame for presenting the stories of many others, including an international balloonist, an astronaut, an astronomer, an archivist, a speleologist, a painter, an arctic adventurer, and a creative designer of giant puppets. Each subject discusses his or her life's work, as displayed by footage of varying quality, and the influence Verne has had on that work. Emphasis is on the lives Verne has influenced, with brief portions on Verne's own biography and creative process. Overall production values are acceptable, including some amateur footage on the streets of France, adequate subject interviews, interesting black-and-white clips from movies based on Verne's work, and very good scientific footage of undersea and space explorations. Note that DVD-R media may not work with some players. Recommended as a general, unscientific treatment of the relationships among speculative literature, science, and real life. Like its more scientific companion piece, Aquanauts (2006, National Film Board of Canada), the entire narration and dialogue are in French, with English subtitles.