Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.
Exploring Nim’s touching, tragic life via vintage footage and Errol Morris-style interviews, Marsh’s sensitive doc is a light look at some dark clues to the kind of creatures we really are.
Poignant enough to open even the rustiest tear duct.
Gripping, heart-wrenching, powerful and a sad indictment of scientific practice, which shows that ‘human’ and ‘humane’ are all-too-often mutually exclusive.
Marsh's film is absorbing, not just for footage of its central chimp, frolicking in tiny dungarees, hanging out on the sofa and developing a taste for ice-cream, coffee and pizza, but also its human stories and the power struggles over Nim.
What emerges is both a heartbreaking tale of the mistreatment of one ‘dumb animal’ and a complex meditation on the very best and worst aspects of human nature.
Terrific story, world class documentary making.
One of the best documentaries of the year.
The chimp comes out of it well. Homo sapiens, of course, is found wanting.
As a cinema experience, Project Nim was never likely to reach the heights of Marsh’s Man on Wire, but the eccentricities of his story made it well worth telling.
James Marsh’s poignant film showcases the best and worst instincts of human nature and tells an extraordinary tale.
Chaotic look at a 70s bid to teach a chimp sign language.
Project Nim is an absorbing and illuminating documentary that, despite some heartbreak, brims with humanity and comes with some priceless humour.
A few heroes do emerge, but mostly the film serves as a reminder of tragic consequences that can arise from needless scientific follies.
If you're human (or if you share, say, 94 per cent of human DNA), it will break your heart.
Rather irritatingly told.
Nim Chimpsky: the chimp they tried to turn into a human
An interview with James Marsh
Bob Ingersoll
Project Nim: the chimp who was brought up like a child
Project Nim
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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