KillerFilm.com, April 23, 2008
Donny Broussard Reviews: "The Linguists"

Donny Broussard

4 of 5 Stars

Plot Outline
"David and Greg are "The Linguists," who document languages on the verge of extinction. In the rugged landscapes of Siberia, India, and Bolivia, their resolve is tested by institutionalized racism and violent economic unrest."

Review Summary
The idea itself is interesting, but the scientists, professors David Harrison and Gregory Anderson are modern day adventurers that will stop at nothing in their quest to preserve dying languages.

The Review
I've never been a huge documentary fan, but lately they have been becoming increasingly hard to ignore. First of all Hollywood is producing mountains of soulless drivel, and because of the popularity reality television has gained in recent years documentarians now have a much more open minded audience. Plus these types of films allow viewers to expand their knowledge while riding the couch.

Recently I attended the IDIDX film festival and got a chance to catch a fascinating film called "The Linguists" about two scientists that travel the world documenting disappearing languages. The idea itself is interesting, but the scientists, professors David Harrison and Gregory Anderson are modern day adventurers that will stop at nothing in their quest to preserve dying languages. They travel through jungles, climb mountains, dance with natives, barter with tribesmen. All the while providing answers as to why these languages are becoming extinct.

I enjoyed "The Linguists" so much that after watching it I decided to try my hand at learning another language. These guys are heros and the filmmakers pieced together their journey in a very compelling way. Also I think that this film would work extremely well within the television format. I can't wait until "The Linguists" makes its way onto DVD so that I can force feed it to all my friends and family because this is a killer film!