10s Movie Review - Fantastic Fungi

Director: Louie Schwartzberg
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 81 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Brie Larson (Narrator)

Description: “Fantastic Fungi” is a descriptive time-lapse journey about the magical, mysterious and medicinal world of fungi and their power to heal, sustain and contribute to the regeneration of life on Earth that began 3.5 billion years ago.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 3: A DOCUMENTARY ON A TOPIC YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT
 
Review: Who would have thought that a documentary about fungi would be the highlight of my week?
Every once in a while you stumble upon a hidden gem on Netflix. “Fantastic Fungi” has changed my view on nature forever.

You have animals and plants. The organism in between is the mushroom. Or rather, fungi. A mushroom is just a small part of the fungus, similar to an apple on an apple tree. There are countless species, many of which have yet to be discovered. We also still only know half the applications for both medicine and solving environmental problems. The documentary is a journey of discover into this underexposed part of nature.

Did you know that the largest living organism on Earth is fungus? And that trees communicate with each other through fungal threads, which have an even more complex structure underground than our brains? Also, in “Fantastic Fungi”, scientists agree that the evolution of our brain has been accelerated by nature’s magical mushrooms, and that many religions originated because of the. There are mushrooms that clean up oil spills. Not to mention the antibiotic penicillin. And this is just the top of the underground network of fungal threads connected to all living things on earth.

The documentary combines time-lapse cinematography, CGI, nature footage and interviews focusing on the biology, environmental roles and various uses of fungi. “Fantastic Fungi” features scientist such as Paul Stamets (mycologist) and authors Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone and A drew Weil. They make the viewer aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions mushrooms can offer in medicinal, therapeutic and even environmental issues.

I was utterly amazed while watching this documentary and never thought fungi were this important.

Rating: 4,5 / 5