Connected

Shlain's effort to pay tribute to her late father while simultaneously showing us how we should think about the non-linear nature of connectivity is interesting. But there are times when it's hard to figure out some of the individual points she's trying to make thanks to the film's fractured presentation of visual images and personal life events. Others may not agree with the cause-and-effect relationships between events established here. But the movie's overall message is very clear: We need to take responsibility for what we do in the world, because everything we do will eventually impact someone (or something) else.

Narrated by Shlain and actor Peter Coyote, the film offers a historical exploration of connectivity while showcasing a collage of home movies, animation, archival video footage, and Web imagery to underscore the different ways that humans connect. It also highlights the intentional and unexpected consequences of these connections on the world. Many of these arguments are extensions of ideas introduced in the late Dr. Shlain's controversial books.