Fabrizio Terranova's smart romp of a doc, DONNA HARAWAY: STORY TELLING FOR EARTHLY SURVIVAL

I'd never heard of Donna Haraway before receiving the publicity information on the new film about her from Icarus Home Video. But after sitting down and viewing this very interesting and surprisingly inventive documentary, TrustMovies was taken time and again by how much Ms Haraway reminded me of the subject of another recent doc, the late Lynn Margulis, as seen in Symbiotic Earth. Both were/are professors/teachers. Ms Margulis was much more of a scientist, while Ms Haraway now calls herself a "story teller," albeit one possessing quite a set of credentials, though the film at hand -- DONNA HARAWAY: STORY TELLING FOR EARTHLY SURVIVAL -- never pushes these.

Its director, Fabrizio Terranova (gorgeous name!), shown at right, seems determined -- perhaps because the subject of his film considers herself to be foremost a storyteller -- to become a something of a fabulist himself. He is certainly not content to simply place his camera in front of Haraway and let her proclaim, though it may seem at first that this is exactly what he is doing. And Ms Haraway does proclaim very well. She proves provocative, intelligent and lots of fun. But as the film moves ahead, you may notice some odd things about the window behind Haraway, in which the view will suddenly change, not naturally but more via special effect. By the time a jellyfish is swimming in the air above and around his subject, and she herself is playing with objects that clearly seem to be out of, say, Marvel's Doctor Strange, you'll understand that you not watching your everyday documentary.

All this is in spite of -- and also because of -- the leading lady. Haraway (above and below) is an original, dedicated to everything from feminism to the environment, science fiction to progressive relationships, and history to the upending of what we might call "common sense." The woman talks about all of these and more (including orthodontia!), in the process making us think and smile and think again.

We learn about her own history: family (birth and chosen), relationships (both loving and sexual), and especially her canine companion, a beautiful Australian shepherd, now in decline, whom we also see during his earlier and impressive training feats. Slowly and very interestingly, an entire life and philosophy come together before us. As a younger woman she once heard her own mother refer to her as perhaps "not marriageable."  Gosh, somehow she has managed quite well.

Along the way, we see some funny, appropriate animation, hear from a few other folk in the equation, and by the time we arrive at the film's conclusion -- during which Haraway finally tells us one of her stories -- Terranova actually makes the screen go dark for awhile, so that we can simply listen and better process what we're hearing. Earlier in the film, she has told us that "Some of the best thinking is done as story telling," and now we see/hear an example -- one that seems to contain so much that this woman has already placed as highly important in our mind.

Haraway may not be a scientist but she certainly is smart. And so is the man who made this charming, very interesting documentary. From Icarus Home Video, Donna Haraway: Story Telling for Earthly Survival becomes available this Tuesday, March 5 -- on DVD and streaming (via Amazon, Vimeo and iTunes), for both purchase and rental.