Project Nim

Inspired by Elizabeth Hess's provocative nonfiction book, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human, filmmaker James Marsh's documentary begins in 1973, when Columbia University psychologist Herbert Terrace theorized that if an infant chimpanzee was nurtured like a human child and taught American Sign Language, it could communicate with researchers. His student, Stephanie LaFarge, offered to raise a two-week-old simian named Nim Chimpsky (after famous MIT linguist/cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky) alongside her seven children. But, as happens with most primates, Nim's docile disposition changed when he turned 2, and he became violent with his caretakers. “To be fair to Stephanie, there was no textbook on what she could and couldn't do,” says Marsh; in fact, LaFarge not only breast-fed and diapered Nim but also introduced him to smoking marijuana. Marsh, whose convincing scene re-enactments are intermixed with archival footage and present-day interviews, postulates that it's ultimately impossible for humans and chimpanzees to cohabit, noting that apes don't have sufficient intelligence to comprehend and modify their superior strength. Eventually, after spending time with various teachers, Nim was returned to the research center where he was born, and for the next 20 years lived in assorted wildlife facilities, where he could barely communicate with others of his kind. Although saved from euthanasia by an animal-rights activist, Nim died of a heart attack at the age of 26 (significantly younger than the average lifespan of 45–50 years). An extraordinary tale with disturbing ethical overtones, this is highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director James Marsh, a “making-of” featurette (34 min.), a “Bob's Journey” segment with primatologist Bob Ingersoll (11 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning doc.] (S. Granger)