LiFe…
What an amazing amalgamation of chemicals we humans are! Dr. Robert
Winston’s visceral exploration of the physical processes of the body is
an enlightening, exciting, and sometimes startling testimonial to just
how complicated an organism the human animal is. From the graceful
opening shot of naked people ages 1 to 100 standing in a row in a
forest, to the painful last days of a man dying of cancer, this video
will make you regard the human body with an awesome new respect.
Often
using himself as a subject, Dr. Winston examines how the physiology of
our bodies works. Tiny, fiber-optic cameras make a journey down an
intestinal track look like a ride on a candy-pink roller coaster.
Advanced medical imaging techniques used by the filmmakers make it
possible to see and understand the body in a whole new way, such as
when a 3-D image of Dr. Winston’s head is sliced open to reveal the
miniscule bones of the inner ear.
Yet for all its advanced
technology, the series does not neglect the "human" side of our bodies.
Dr. Winston pours buckets of salt water into the ocean as he marvels
that we are the only animals that cry. The series, shot over a period
of two years, is loosely framed around the lives of a group of people
who narrate their emotional responses to the physical changes their
bodies are undergoing. In one episode, a young girl goes through
puberty, in another an elderly couple reflects on their aging bodies.
Perhaps the most moving scene is that of the birth of a baby, shown
from inside the mother. It is almost like you are taking this
most difficult journey with the infant as he travels toward the
beginning of his life.
