One Life

This is a BBC Earth documentary narrated by Daniel Craig. These kinds of docs are starting to blend together. I've seen sections of this somewhere else. Wait! I think I've seen this one before without writing a review. That's one of the reasons that I started writing reviews years ago. I wouldn't be able to keep them all straight without doing that. Craig has a vaguely British accent. I can recognize his voice once I read the cast list. The fact is that if I can remember four or five of these animals, then this must be really good. The only deficiency is that they have very little tying them together. I guess the point is that we're all one world and that's what ties us all together. Duh!

One Life is a beautiful documentary about animal life on Planet Earth. There were some really charming parts about the cycle of life showing animals that have caring and dedicated Mothers. I especially enjoyed the Snow Monkeys and the Brazilian Capuchin Monkeys. They were pretty cute and crafty in how they kept warm and fed. Another favourite part of mine were the Elephants marching towards water and the rock climbing goats.

Daniel Craig has a nice voice for narration and the scenery was breathtaking. I don't watch a lot Documentaries like this one, but I enjoyed it.

From a technical aspect, this movie is amazing. I haven't seen such detailed cinematography filmed with dedication and pure talent. It must have been so hard to film all that, I just cannot imagine the effort. Sound is also great.

This documentary is just a collection of selected scenes/stories from the more comprehensive BBC series Life but is fantastic nevertheless even if you have already seen it on TV. For me the one standout was the narration by Daniel Craig and the very subtle music. Here in the US the TV show was narrated by Oprah Winfrey which was a disaster. You might not think of James Bond as a narrator for a nature documentary but Craig really did a great job on this one. He really conveys the astonishment and wonder that you feel watching these animals in his tone of voice but in a very playful way. And the music is very subtle and not too dramatic. In fact the total silence with no music and no narration in the scene with the Ibex climbing down the cliff is more powerful than if there was any. My favorite scene however is the one with the cheetahs on the prowl filmed head on, with the cats walking almost straight ahead towards the camera, it just conveyed a sense of power of the predators on their land. Highly recommended regardless of whether you watched the TV show or not.

Watched this documentary at the Mumbai Film Fest. Didn't expect a film on wildlife and especially one that entertains you, makes you laugh, rejoice, wonder and feel what the animals feel. 'One Life' has action, drama, romance, humor, tragedy, gallantry and all the ingredients that goes into making an entertainer that would delight the kids, as well as the adults equally.

The effort into capturing the nitty-gritties of wildlife is awe-inspiring. And, Daniel Craig's narration is music to the rhapsody. This documentary soon could be one of those classics that you might want in your wildlife series collection. This one you shouldn't miss.