Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo Reviews

A disappointingly tedious slog through a seemingly fascinating subject.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5

What's the big deal? Sure, it's a bit eccentric that the Japanese take to insects, but that's tame stuff next to Ninja Turtles and pet rocks.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4

It flies like a moth around its subject suggesting, sometimes playfully and occasionally ponderously, that we humans are as much like bugs as the creepy-crawlies themselves.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

An expansive take on the world in miniature, Jessica Oreck's documentary debut pursues all angles on a novel subject -- the Japanese obsession with insects -- until it assumes a worldview.

Full Review

Creepy, crawly and profound, this thought-provoking eco-doc wows with breathtaking imagery.

Full Review | Original Score: B+

This densely structured film is concerned with the interplay between a Zen-based traditional way of life and the alienating demands of urban modernity, a questionable dichotomy it has predictable difficulty resolving.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

An entomologist's delight, Jessica Oreck's movie about Japan's insect mania is worth watching even if you're repulsed by creepy-crawlers.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

A scientist looking for a combination of childlike innocence and minimalist sophistication might not see it in Hello Kitty but can recognize it in a horned beetle.

| Original Score: 3/5

An illuminating, delightful, breathtaking and captivating documentary for all ages.

Full Review | Original Score: 8.15/10

A lyrical, slow-moving documentary on Japan's abiding fascination with insects.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

No, not a Toho creature feature, but a diverting, slightly meandering, mini- DV-shot documentary on the Japanese love for insects.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

A fascinating documentary about the high regard for insects in Japan and the cultural and spiritual reasons behind this phenomenon.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5

A delightfully weird, if occasionally too arty, documentary as darting in its structure as a dragonfly's flight.

Full Review | Original Score: B+

A parade of loosely, lyrically related scenes and images imbues the film with a wonder worthy of its subjects.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

An oddball documentary that strives to capture the essence of an entire culture through one preoccupation: insects.

Full Review | Original Score: B+

Technically ambitious, Beetle Queen succeeds where a recent armada of embarrassingly sentimental, hugely liberal eco-docs have failed

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

A gentle docu-tribute to Japan's age-old connection to the insect world, a meditative piece that is by turns hypnotically beautiful and painfully slow.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Quietly spellbinding.

Full Review

Beetle Queen does a wonderful job of showing the connection between things like Zen gardens, bonsai trees and the love of watching insects move in a small habitat.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5