THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHICKEN

In The Natural History of the Chicken, Mark Lewis demonstrates once again his affectionate rapport with animals and with the people who love them. He also confirms his reputation as a superb documentarian, who is able to color social analysis, factual information and bizarre psychology with a sardonic humor that verges on the surreal. His new film is dedicated to the Italian Renaissance natural historian Ulisse Aldrovandi, who saw the chicken as part of a much larger order of things. It includes a wealth of chicken facts (e.g. they love to watch television and enjoy classical music), a thorough documentation of the chicken production industry, and Lewis' characteristically eccentric selection of human interview subjects. There's the woman who gives mouth-to-beak resuscitation to an accidentally frozen chicken, the man who imitates the rooster's mating dance, and the community that revolted against the neighbor raising cocks for fighting.