Film

The Secret Life of Plants

Name: The Secret Life of Plants
Genre: Family, Documentary
Released: 1978
Cast: Ruby Crystal, John Ashley Hamilton, Eartha Robinson, Peter Tompkins, Elizabeth Vreeland

Science fiction
Light-hearted
Slow-burning

A 1978 documentary arguing that plants possess consciousness and emotion, boosted by Stevie Wonder's original score and hypnotic time-lapse cinematography. It's a genuinely trippy viewing experience that straddles serious plant science and New Age speculation. For curious viewers and psychonauts alike.

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Cosmos1980

Carl Sagan-inspired wonder about the universe's mysteries, presented with similar visual grandeur and philosophical openness. Beautiful, accessible, and genuinely awestruck without demanding you believe everything.

But Thirteen hours is a commitment, and it leans heavily into cosmology rather than biology or consciousness studies.

Fantastic Mr. Fox2009

Wes Anderson's stop-motion oddity shares the dreamy, slightly unreal quality that makes The Secret Life of Plants so mesmerizing. Hand-crafted wonder and surprising emotional depth beneath the whimsy.

But Very stylized and theatrical; if you want naturalistic storytelling, this will frustrate you immediately.

The Fountain2006

Darren Aronofsky's ambitious meditation on love, death, and nature across three timelines. Gorgeous, strange, deeply felt, and willing to go to mystical places without apology.

But Deliberately obscure and emotionally demanding. Some find it pretentious; others find it transcendent. No middle ground.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Secret Life of Plants

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Baraka1992

Both films trust visual and sonic language to convey ideas about consciousness and connection that words would diminish. Both argue the world is more alive and intelligent than we usually notice.

A wordless, music-driven journey across Earth's landscapes and human rituals. Pure cinema that shows rather than tells, capturing a sense of global interconnection that echoes The Secret Life of Plants' mysticism without narration to anchor it.

But No dialogue, no plot, no explanations. It demands patience and openness; if you want information or narrative, you'll be lost and annoyed.

My Octopus Teacher2020

A marine biologist forms an extraordinary relationship with a wild octopus. Real, moving, and captures something profound about the inner lives of creatures we don't fully understand.

But Quiet and introspective; minimal plot and soundtrack-heavy. If you want narrative drive, you won't find it here.

Arrival2016

Intellectually rich sci-fi about communication with aliens, language, and consciousness. Handles big ideas with emotional intelligence and genuine wonder about the non-human world.

But Cerebral and slow-paced. The ending hinges on something you either accept or don't; there's little room for skepticism.

Planet Earth II2016

Nature documentary at the highest level. Staggering cinematography revealing the secret lives of animals and ecosystems. Each episode is a self-contained masterpiece of wonder and craft.

But Purely observational; no narrative drive or argument, just breathtaking footage. Some want a story to hang things on.

The Secret of Kells2009

Hand-drawn Irish animation with a distinctly otherworldly aesthetic. Celebrates magic, nature, and mystery without needing to explain everything. Gorgeously strange and genuinely enchanting.

But The pacing is deliberate and the plot is thin. It's more about atmosphere than story, which won't work for everyone.

Annihilation2018

A shimmering zone where nature behaves impossibly. Mysterious, beautiful, deeply unsettling, and genuinely interested in how consciousness might work in an alien environment.

But Deliberately ambiguous and refuses to explain itself. The ending will leave some satisfied and others frustrated.

The Emerald Forest1985

A father journeys into the Amazon to find his son, raised by an indigenous tribe. Lush, spiritual, and genuinely curious about alternative ways of knowing the natural world.

But Dated special effects and some clumsy cultural representation. The protagonist is well-meaning but painfully American about it.

La Jetée1962

Both films reject conventional narrative film language in favor of something closer to visual meditation. Both prioritize mood and idea over plot clarity, creating trance-like viewing experiences.

A sci-fi story told almost entirely through still photographs and haunting sound design. Hypnotic, weird, devastatingly moving, and structurally unlike anything else. One of cinema's strangest achievements.

But 26 minutes of mostly static images with voiceover. Feels more like a poem or dream than a film. Impatient viewers will hate it.