In mud flats along the coast of Brittany we watch acera, small ball-shaped mollusks that are about two inches in diameter. They rest in mud; then, in water, their skirt-like hood dances as they spin and spin. The film also details the mollusks’ ritual mating habits.

Taking footage extraordinary in its own right, then stylizing and elevating it to cinema, Jean Painlevé pairs sound and image in humorous (and provocative) juxtapositions. The result is, at one moment, whimsical and balletic, and the next, capturing the feeling of urgency or panic of a horror film.