Living Desert

Release Date: November 10, 1953

Watch Date: February 12, 2023

 

    Bob, really, really enjoyed this movie. I cannot imagine why, so I’m going to try and see it from his from his viewpoint. Might be a bit difficult, but we’ll try to do it justice.

    This is a True-Life Adventure; which is to say that it’s not really a documentary, but it’s not really a movie with a plot either. It’s a sort of mishmash of the two. Scorpions will square dance, facts that may or may not be accurate are spouted, but not very frequently.

    Bob would, at this point, probably point that it’s amazing to see a documentary focused on animals that are normally considered gross or uninteresting. He would say that Disney does an admirable job making the scorpions, tarantulas and snakes seem not as gross and creepy as most people would view them.

    I mean, clearly, ‘Living Desert’ was doing something right, because it went and won as Oscar, the International Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, an award at the Berlin Film Festival and a special achievement award from the Golden Globes. In 2000 it was preserved by the Library of Congress. So maybe Bob just sees the magic that I don’t but the rest of the world does.

    Maybe arachnids just aren’t as interesting to me as the rest of the global population? I always thought they were universally loathed. Perhaps I’ve been wrong the whole time?

    I’m getting off-topic here – because I really didn’t get the appeal. But Bob enjoyed it, he really did. He very immediately stated his doubts that any True-Life Adventure would ever top this one…but I suppose only time will tell.