By Amanda Hegarty
A study released by Washington University, St. Louis in 2010 discovered that orangutans are among the most ‘energy-efficient’ animals in the world. The only mammal that uses less energy is the tree sloth. What this means is that orangutans spend the majority of their time sleeping or just hanging out, doing absolutely nothing.
Keeping this fact in mind, Nicolas Philibert’s documentary Nénette follows the existence of the “old lady” Nénette, a 40 year-old female orangutan born in Borneo but resident in a Parisian Zoo since 1972. The entire film is shot looking only at her enclosure, with a soundtrack of random commentary from visitors to the zoo visible only occasionally in their reflection on the glass and commentary from various zookeepers.
Just like Nénette herself, the film is slow and contemplative. Nénette’s back story is fed to us gradually through drips and drabs until it is revealed she is a mother of four who has survived three husbands. She now lives with her son and takes the pill in her yoghurt to prevent an incestuous pregnancy. Keepers recall her as being the “bane of the zoo” when she was younger, although age has calmed her as she sits passively in her cage.
There is a strange fascination with watching an animal so close to the human in its appearance and behaviour. It’s hard not to imagine expression in Nénette’s cartoon like face. And the visitors comments echo this sentiment with constant musings wondering whether Nénette is depressed or lonely or homesick for Borneo. As several of the keepers spoke about the guilt of having her in a zoo and melancholy of her life spent doing absolutely nothing, the film was beginning to get very depressing.
But Philibert’s documentary is a meditative reflection on captivity, not a judgement. One of the final commentary clips comes from a keeper who has helped raise Nénette since she came to the zoo: “Can we avoid imagining for her what she is thinking?” he says. And the answer is clearly no. With the various commentators having spent the first hour projecting feelings of depression onto Nénette, Nénette herself has given us nothing.
The movie, like Nénette, is ‘energy-efficient’. It is deliberately slow-paced, thoughtful and considered. There is an admirable rhythm between scenes of silent observation and carefully edited audio clips. It is a controlled and admirable documentary by Philbert, but considering the inaction of Nénette herself, this documentary needs a patient viewer.
