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Project Nim

  • 20112011
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
8.4K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
A documentary on a 1970s experiment that aimed to show that a chimpanzee, if raised and nurtured like a human child, could learn to communicate with language.
Play trailer2:30
1 Video
21 Photos
  • Documentary
Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
8.4K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • James Marsh
  • Writer
    • Elizabeth Hess(book "Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human")
  • Stars
    • Nim Chimpsky(archive footage)
    • Stephanie LaFarge
    • Herbert Terrace
Top credits
  • Director
    • James Marsh
  • Writer
    • Elizabeth Hess(book "Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human")
  • Stars
    • Nim Chimpsky(archive footage)
    • Stephanie LaFarge
    • Herbert Terrace
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 38User reviews
    • 139Critic reviews
    • 83Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 16 wins & 30 nominations total

    Videos1

    Project Nim
    Trailer 2:30
    Project Nim

    Photos21

    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky and Herbert Terrace in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky, Stephanie LaFarge, and Herbert Terrace in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh in Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh at an event for Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh and Simon Chinn at an event for Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh at an event for Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nim Chimpsky
    Nim Chimpsky
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Stephanie LaFarge
    • Selfas Self
    Herbert Terrace
    • Selfas Self
    Wer LaFarge
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Jenny Lee
    • Selfas Self
    Laura-Ann Petitto
    • Selfas Self
    Bill Tynan
    • Selfas Self
    Joyce Butler
    • Selfas Self
    Renne Falitz
    • Selfas Self
    Bob Ingersoll
    • Selfas Self
    Alyce Moore
    • Selfas Self
    James Mahoney
    • Selfas Self
    • (as Dr. James Mahoney)
    Henry Herrmann
    • Selfas Self
    Cleveland Amory
    Cleveland Amory
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Marion Probst
    • Selfas Self
    Chris Byrne
    • Selfas Self
    Bern Cohen
    Bern Cohen
    • Dr. William Lemmon: re-enactment unit)as Dr. William Lemmon: re-enactment unit)
    Reagan Leonard
    • Stephanie LaFarge: re-enactment unitas Stephanie LaFarge: re-enactment unit
    • Director
      • James Marsh
    • Writer
      • Elizabeth Hess(book "Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human")
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      As of 2019, this has been James Marsh's last documentary. Since Project Nim (2011), he has enjoyed a run of well-received feature films like Shadow Dancer (2012), The Theory of Everything (2014) and The Mercy (2018).
    • Connections
      Featured in Maltin on Movies: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

    User reviews38

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Sad for the Chimp, Angry at the Prof
    Greetings again from the darkness. It is rare that we find a movie so unsettling to watch, yet admire the expertise with which it is made. Such is the case with award-winning documentarian James Marsh and his presentation of Project Nim. This is the story of Nim Chimpsky, the chimp from the 1970's who was taught sign-language and raised by humans.

    The chimp's name is taken from Noam Chomsky, the famous MIT linguist. Unfortunately, the linguistic side of this story actually is quite minor compared to what really occurred. Columbia professor Herbert Terrace wanted to conduct an experiment on a baby chimp to see if it could be raised like a human baby and learn to communicate with people. He started the project by snatching the baby from its mother at two weeks of age, and then plopping it right into a large, free-spirited family with no scientific or primate-training background. Heck, no one in the family even knows sign language! The film shows how quickly Nim adapts to the pampered lifestyle and is even breast-fed by Stephanie, the mother. Nim is also exposed to smoking pot, drinking alcohol and even has limited success being potty trained. All of this is explained away with "it was the seventies". I was already bouncing between sadness and anger.

    Admittedly, I am no scientist. I do know that a true science experiment or project would involve specific records and at least some type of plan ... not to mention the recording of actions, tests and progress. Instead, Professor Terrace shows up periodically for some photo ops and a hug from Nim. Poof! He is gone again. While this is never really explained in the film, one can only assume he was benefiting nicely from a huge grant, not to mention "close" relationships with a couple of his assistants. The other thing left unexplained was how Nim's mother had other babies taken from her in a similar manner. We get no detail on those "experiments".

    As Nim gets older, guess what ... he gets bigger and stronger. He is difficult to control and even lashes out periodically at his caregivers, once quite violently. He is bounced from home to home and person to person. He does adapt, but he is just too strong and unpredictable to be part of human society. Finally, he is sold off to an animal rescue farm. That's just great, except initially there are no other chimps. Not a good thing for a social primate.

    The whole thing is just painful to watch. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for the chimp and anger at the people ... especially Professor Terrace. His selfish, ill-conceived project negatively impacted the life of a chimp and the safety and well-being of many good-hearted people along the way.

    While there was proof that Nim learned approximately 125 signs, the question remains ... did he really understand these words and phrases? Did he instead learn behavior that led to his reward? One of Nim's later day caregivers (Bob Ingersoll) visited him often at the rescue farm until at the age of 26, Nim passed away. The average lifespan of a chimp in the wild is about 45 years. So, it would appear neither the chimp or the people really benefited from Project Nim. It is, however, a well made documentary.
    helpful•63
    9
    • ferguson-6
    • Jul 25, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 12, 2011 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Proyecto Nim
    • Filming locations
      • New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Red Box Films
      • Passion Pictures
      • BBC Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $411,184
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $25,820
      • Jul 10, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $612,839
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital

    Related news

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