I was not aware of the existence of radiolarians, nor of the fact that protists can produce such intricate skeletal structures. When first seeing the film, they reminded me of the patterns of snowflakes. Both are tiny , beautiful things that were hidden from humans until we decided to take a closer look. What caught my attention the most from Heckl’s life was the claim he took Darwin’s evolution theory as a “challenge”. I loved hearing that the work of one revolutionary scientist inspired other great ones to go against the grain and reframe the human perception of life. The distinction between scientist and artist has always been arbitrary to me, as I know many people (including myself) who exist as part of both worlds, so seeing it blurred in the film was very satisfying. The claim that evolution leads “inexorably upward” is an interesting, but not technically correct claim by Heckl. Evolution isn’t about “progress”, but adapting to your environment and making sure you and your offspring survive. Modern day scientists would critique the mentioned claim, as the driving mechanisms of evolution work to make a species better fit for its current conditions, not simply “better” than it was before.