Born in the forests of Borneo, Nénette recently turned 40. It is rare that an orang-utang reaches such an age. An inhabitant of a Paris zoo since 1972, she is now older than any member of the staff. Nénette is the undisputed star of the place, and each day she sees hundreds of visitors pass by.

One of today’s most versatile and unusual documentarians, Nicolas Philibert is always full of surprises. Here, he takes a single subject and location, yet offers up a myriad of possible sparks for discussion. Animal intimacy has rarely been captured as delicately and expressively on screen.