Film

Human

Name: Human
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2015

Slow-burning

Yann Arthus-Bertrand's visual essay stitches together hundreds of intimate interviews and breathtaking aerial photography into a three-hour meditation on what connects us. Love, fear, work, prejudice, hope—the film lets strangers speak their truths while the camera pulls back to show our shared planet. It's expansive, sometimes overwhelming, made for watching attentively rather than passively.

TMDb rating

4.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like documentaries that let strangers speak at length and are happy to be moved by sweeping images of the planet, even if the sentiment runs big.

Skip it if you want something tighter than three hours, since this is long and loose, drifting from one testimony to the next with a sincerity that can tip into earnestness.

What it asks of you: Three hours and eleven minutes, mostly in a patient, unhurried rhythm, with long stretches of quiet looking and interviews you'll need to sit through in one or several sittings.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Life Is Beautiful1997

David Attenborough guides you through extraordinary animal behavior with the same sense of wonder Arthus-Bertrand brings to humanity. It's spectacle in service of genuine connection—you'll understand why creatures do what they do.

But The focus is animals, not people, which might feel like a step away rather than deeper in. Some sequences are slow-paced by design.

My Octopus Teacher2020

A one-year relationship between a filmmaker and an octopus that becomes a meditation on observation, presence, and what we learn when we truly pay attention. Intimate and philosophical without ever feeling forced.

But Quieter and much smaller in scope than Human. The focus on one creature and one man's inner life might feel too narrow if you want the full spectrum.

Senna2010

A documentary about a racing driver that becomes a study of ambition, mortality, and what drives us to risk everything. Beautifully edited, genuinely moving, the kind of film that changes how you think about its subject.

But Heavy focus on one individual rather than collective humanity. If you're not interested in motorsport, the entry point might feel thin.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Human

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Wanda1970

Both are radical in their refusal to judge their subjects. Human's interviews and Wanda's camera equally honor people the world overlooks, finding poetry in indifference and survival.

Barbra Loden's stunning film about a woman drifting through small-town America follows no plot—just presence, accident, consequence. It captures something Human reaches for: the dignity and strangeness of ordinary lives, with zero sentimentality.

But Shot in muted colors on a minimal budget, it looks and feels like a home video from the 1970s. Aimless by design—no catharsis or arc, just drift and dust.

The Look of Silence2014

Joshua Oppenheimer's film asks ordinary people about atrocities they committed, capturing shame, denial, and the possibility of facing the past. It's Human's darker cousin—unflinching about what we're capable of.

But Deeply uncomfortable. Focuses on genocide and confrontation rather than connection. Requires emotional readiness.

Man with a Movie Camera1929

A Soviet montage of everyday life edited to overwhelming virtuosity—city workers, children, lovers, all choreographed by the camera itself. A radical ancestor of what Human does, proving the form is timeless.

But Silent, abstract, extremely rapid editing. Made nearly a century ago and it shows. Not for everyone's pace.

Save the Last Dance2001

Follows the last inhabitants of a Portuguese village before it floods. Tender and devastating—a microcosm of loss, memory, and what grounds us to place and each other.

But Small and specific rather than global. Slow. Could feel too melancholic if you're seeking uplift.

Planet Earth2006

Attenborough again, but here the emphasis is pure visual magnificence—the planet itself as protagonist. Restful and awestruck. Pairs well with Human's aerial sequences.

But Essentially a nature show, no narrative or human voice except the narration. Can feel like a visual screen saver if you're not in the right headspace.

The Salt of Life2011

Vittorio de Sica's gentle final film about an older man navigating relationships and desire. Quiet, funny, human-scaled. Sometimes the most profound stories are the ones closest to home.

But Italian neorealism from 1952, but this one is minor. Slow pacing and modest stakes compared to Human's epic canvas. Easy to miss the point of.

Sans Soleil1983

Both reject the idea that images speak for themselves. Human uses real voices; Sans Soleil uses fractured poetry. Both are ultimately about the gaps between what we see and what we understand.

Chris Marker's essay film moves through Japan, Guam, and elsewhere with a meditative voiceover that questions memory, politics, and what images can tell us. Philosophical, strange, visually intoxicating. Like watching thought itself take form.

But No conventional narrative. Requires active engagement and patience. Black-and-white stills, film loops, and dense poetic language—not a film you watch casually.

The Ascent1977

Both films ask what persists in us when everything else falls away. Human finds it in love and memory; The Ascent finds it in faith and sacrifice. Different answers to the same question: what is essential?

Two Soviet partisans flee through snowy forest in this stark, metaphysical film. It's a war film that becomes a spiritual interrogation—what does it mean to hold to your beliefs when everything is taken from you? Unforgettable and strange.

But Black-and-white, Soviet cinema, no conventional plot or character development. Bleak and abstract. Demands interpretation rather than giving answers.