The Judge, the Hunter, the Thief and the Black Orchid

Despite box-cover copy that promises “tales of greed, passion, and desire,” filmmaker Rich Walton relies largely on a rather bland talking-head approach as he interviews orchid fanciers, growers, and botanists for his documentary about the flower's obsessive allure. Restaurateur Lance Birk recalls dangerous exploits in faraway jungles trying to satisfy his mania and fact-check inaccurate extant guidebooks. Small-time grower Fred Clarke describes his happenstance development of a “black orchid”—a mythic mainstay of pulp-fiction fantasy. While rare specimens sell for thousands, entrepreneur Kerry Herndon's assembly-line plant nursery makes the flowers available to big-box retailers (Herndon says, unsentimentally, “Orchids are really just beautiful broccoli.”). One expert worries that marketplace overkill will lead to ultimate loss of interest (interviewees agree that the international ban on trading in rare flora has not provided a remedy, but rather has inspired smuggling). Finally, Walton visits the World Orchid Conference held in Miami in 2008, where rivalry and a judging controversy take center stage. A reading list included during the end credits is a nice touch, even if it—and everyone else here—ignores Susan Orlean's 1998 nonfiction classic, The Orchid Thief (and its oddball film spinoff, Adaptation), which covered much of the same territory in a far more compelling manner. Still, given the perennial interest in the exotic flower, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)