Animals have been used to teach moral lessons since Aesop; the medieval bestiary, from which Denis Côté's absorbing documentary takes its name, presented an illustrated compendium of creatures serving as allegorical figures. Quadrupeds have inspired lofty sentiments from writers for nearly as long. Elizabeth Barrett Browning once extolled her pets as "love without speech"; Ted Hughes praised animals' wisdom, declaring they "know something special." Yet despite our closeness to and fascination with these mute creatures, they remain ultimately unknowable. Anchoring Anthology's... More >>>