So, first off, this movie is not for everyone (see content warning at the bottom of description). Rather, this is an account of surgical and clinical procedures in a number of Paris hospitals, with extreme, graphic closeups and some deeply disturbing images. It gives us explicit images of operations on the eye, the brain and the penis, and takes us into the surreal, microsurgical inner-space of the body. Using tiny cameras and amazing medical technology, the filmmakers (and the viewer) plunge into the viscera of the human body, flinching at absolutely nothing. That said, it is an utterly fascinating, altogether new way to look at life – the human body, specifically, and humanity, generally.
The New York Times: “A phantasmagorical journey… An eye-opening film…. Through these directors’ eyes, these bodies look wondrous and unsettling, macabre and beautiful, and often uncannily unfamiliar. Critic’s Pick!”
The Los Angeles Times: “Extraordinary… digs deep into the human body and opens up landscapes as otherworldly – and harrowing – as any you’re likely to see. The result is a work of purest corporeal poetry… and a remarkably unvarnished, sympathetic portrait of doctors and nurses at work.”
The title comes from anatomist Andreas Vesalius’ groundbreaking study of human anatomy, published in 1543 with incredibly detailed (and, often, very odd) drawings of all aspects of the human body. Just as Vesalius opened the human body to science, so the makers of De Humani Corporis Fabrica open the human body to the cinema.
CONTENT WARNING: Please be aware that De Humani Corporis Fabrica contains graphic documentary footage of surgery and other medical procedures. Viewer discretion is advised.