More than Honey

Many see her as a mere honey producer. Some even find her simply a nuisance and are glad not to be visited by her too often in summer. But the honey bee is one of the great wonders of our nature. Without the honey bee, the balance of our ecosystem would be permanently disturbed or completely destroyed. This makes the news about the increasing number of bee deaths observed in recent years sound all the more terrible. Filmmaker Markus Imhoof wants to get to the bottom of this mystery by delving into the universe of the honeybee. From small traditional beekeepers in Switzerland to industrialized honey farms in the United States to regions of China where bees no longer exist at all and where plants are pollinated by humans by hand, Imhoof's documentary More than Honey goes in search of clues around the globe, unearthing exciting facts and interesting theories.

Borne of many fascinating images, the documentary manages not only to charm, but also to make us think. Although Imhoof comes from a family of beekeepers and his daughter and son-in-law are involved in bee research, the renowned filmmaker had to delve very deeply into the subject matter. The work on the film took a total of five years. Elaborate macro shots, for which even the help of a bee whisperer had to be enlisted, precisely worked out shooting schedules and a careful as well as multifaceted research have finally led to a highly interesting and fascinating final result.

Times it is quite depressing, for example when the mountain beekeeper Fred Jaggi, who pursues his work with much dedication and passion, loses entire bee colonies. Then again, the whole thing is downright shocking when you see the barren regions of China where workers apply pollen powder to flowers by hand. Disillusionment sets in when Miller, the big American beekeeper, says to the sound of his bees buzzing, "That's the sound of money. For here it becomes clear where the roots of the problem lie. The bee, officially the third most important economic animal in Germany, is responsible for almost a third of what humans eat. They are breeding animals for the food industry, which must produce more and more to meet the increasing demand of humans. At the same time, most bees have long since been unable to survive without antibiotics. Admittedly, this has little to do with nature.

Albert Einstein is said to have once said: If the bees die out, four years later humans will die out too. Whether it will actually get to that point remains to be seen. But even if the picture that More than Honey paints is rather bleak and filled with a certain helplessness, Imhoof also makes it clear that there is still hope for the bees and that people can do something to counteract the mysterious dying of the bees. The most important prerequisite for this, however, is a new appreciation of bees and their role in nature and our lives. Only when we understand how wonderful, fascinating and above all how important these animals are, can a rethink take place in our dealings with bees. And this rethinking is long overdue, because bees are much more than just honey.

Some documentaries can be accused of a certain one-sidedness and also scaremongering. Imhoof's film does not leave this impression. Rather, More than Honey seems to be a precisely researched look at a mysterious phenomenon and a fascinating insight into a universe we are still far too unfamiliar with - and this despite the fact that we benefit from the work of honeybees on a daily basis. It's an important film that is not only educational, but also exciting and hugely entertaining. And in the end, that's what makes a good documentary. Absolutely worth watching!!!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp