Baobabs: Between Land and Sea

Kids and adults who have enjoyed the animated Madagascar movie series over the past dozen years know that the island of Madagascar—located off the Southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean—is a scientific curiosity. That is because the remote nation harbors various species of animals and plants that evolved there exclusively, independent and apart from the influence of the nearby continent. Filmmaker Cyrille Cornu's documentary Baobabs: Between Land and Sea centers on a French ecological survey of the baobab, an upside-down-looking tree with a crown of branches that reminds one of entangled roots. The baobab appears in several varieties, but all share a bulbous trunk that, in some cases, is enormous and hollow. (At one point, a scientist, his translator, and a film crew step inside a gigantic trunk, where an entire family found shelter for a while.) Here, Cornu and Wilfried Ramahafaly explore Madagascar's coast by boat—relying on sailors from among the indigenous Vezo people to take them over rough currents—finding that not every baobab site is a happy one. Slash-and-burn agricultural policies in some regions have left a number of the trees deprived of their bark and suffering premature death. An intriguing, visually appealing ecological travelogue, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)