Fantastic Fungi

If the information in Fantastic Fungi is to be believed, mushrooms are all-powerful entities responsible for keeping the planet going for billions of years and capable of healing seemingly everything that ails humankind.

Director Louie Schwartzberg, who stressed the importance of pollinators in his Disneynature film Wings of Life, makes a compelling argument for all of the above through plentiful interviews with insightful subjects who extol fungi’s apparently endless virtues.

Deservedly so, the documentary’s true stars are the fungi themselves, especially as depicted through Schwartzberg’s gorgeous time-lapse photography — quasi-phallic imagery of rapid growth that spans a thrilling range of varieties and colors.

Likewise aiding the cause is narration by Brie Larson that somewhat comically acts as a collective spokesperson for mushrooms, calling to mind a public lecture in which a chanterelle voiced by the Captain Marvel star shares her kingdom’s important roles throughout the Earth’s history and its crucial acts left to play.

Larson’s name recognition serves as a mainstream legitimization of what’s otherwise a fairly small, obscure film, but the fungi advocates that Schwartzberg profiles would shine regardless — none more so than eccentric mycologist Paul Stamets, whose cool demeanor and palpable enthusiasm for his work prove contagious.

Stamets’ frequent appearances anchor tangents from researchers, medical professionals, and formerly ill patients whose firsthand experiences with mushrooms’ cure-all qualities yield a series of revelations that border on unbelievable, yet inspire next to no desire to question their validity.

Perhaps best of all, Schwartzberg presents his exploration of the fringe topic in a brisk 80-minute package that only rarely wanes in energy and is bound to increase awareness of and appreciation for our fungi friends.

Grade: B-plus. Not rated, but with adult themes. Starts Oct. 18 at the Fine Arts Theatre

(Photo: Area23a)