From the team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child. Following Nim's extraordinary journey through human society, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way, the film is an unflinching and unsentimental biography of an animal we tried to make human. What we learn about his true nature - and indeed our own - is comic, revealing and profoundly unsettling.
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 15 wins & 28 nominations.
Top Critics Reviews
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You're left with the impression that, despite not being able to grasp basic human grammar, perhaps Nim was unwittingly conditioned into understanding the concept of love.
– David Jenkins,
Time Out,
9 Aug 2011
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You end up fearing for the humans who contact him. At the same time, you feel his rage.
– John Hartl,
Seattle Times,
11 Aug 2011
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This many-faceted time capsule sheds little light, but buried inside it are vexing questions and the still-beating heart of a special creature.
– Joe Williams,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
12 Aug 2011
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Project Nim nimbly serves up a profoundly sad tale that raises as many thought-provoking questions as it answers.
– Leah Rozen,
TheWrap,
7 Oct 2011
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This haunting life story is an exquisite example of non-fiction filmmaking as full-bodied, emotionally complex drama.