Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsPrimetime EmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalFall TV GuideMost Anticipated This MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayTrending peopleCelebrity news
    IMDb LabsHelp centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
IMDbPro

The Botany of Desire

  • TV Movie
  • 2009
  • TV-14
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
633
YOUR RATING
The Botany of Desire (2009)
Documentary

Michael Pollan, a professor of journalism and a student of food, presents the history of four plants, each of which found a way to make itself essential to humans, thus ensuring widespread p... Read allMichael Pollan, a professor of journalism and a student of food, presents the history of four plants, each of which found a way to make itself essential to humans, thus ensuring widespread propagation. Apples, for sweetness; tulips, for beauty; marijuana, for pleasure; and, potat... Read allMichael Pollan, a professor of journalism and a student of food, presents the history of four plants, each of which found a way to make itself essential to humans, thus ensuring widespread propagation. Apples, for sweetness; tulips, for beauty; marijuana, for pleasure; and, potatoes, for sustenance. Each has a story of discovery and adaptation; each has a symbiotic re... Read all

  • Directors
    • Edward Gray
    • Michael Schwarz
  • Stars
    • Frances McDormand
    • Michael Pollan
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    633
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Edward Gray
      • Michael Schwarz
    • Stars
      • Frances McDormand
      • Michael Pollan
    • 7User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos1

    View Poster

    Top Cast2

    Frances McDormand
    Frances McDormand
    • Self - Narrator
    Michael Pollan
    Michael Pollan
    • Self
    • Directors
      • Edward Gray
      • Michael Schwarz
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews7

    7.6633
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    More like this

    Annihilation
    6.8
    Annihilation

    Related interests

    Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
    Documentary

    Storyline

    Did you know

    • Quotes
      • [last lines]
      • Michael Pollan: For me the most important lessons to take away from these tales is that we are not simply standing outside the web of life, but that we are part of that web of life, and that everything we do, what we choose to eat, what flowers we choose to - to put on our tables, what drugs we choose to take, these are evolutionary votes we are casting every day in - in many, many different ways.
      • [pause]
      • Michael Pollan: When we use these metaphors when we talk about plants having a strategy to do this, or wanting this, or desiring this, we're being metaphorical obviously, I mean, plants do not have consciousness. But this is a fault of our own vocabulary. We don't have a very good vocabulary to describe what other species do to us, because we think we're the only species that really does anything.
      • [pause]
      • Michael Pollan: But to the extent that you can put yourself in the place of these other species and look at the world from their point of view, I think it frees us from our sense of alienation from nature? And we become members of the biotic community, one among many species, all of them together creating this wondrous web that we call life.

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    • Release date
      • October 28, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Ботаника Желания
    • Production company
      • Kikim Media
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    • Runtime
      • 2h(120 min)
    • Color
      • Color

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    You have no recently viewed pages
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2026 by IMDb.com, Inc.