Contrasting portraits of chimps

TWO films, in which chimpanzees are the main characters, are being shown in Irish cinemas.

They have broadly similar plots and both have been praised by the critics.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a science-fiction offering. In it, a San Francisco-based micro-biologist seeks a cure for his father’s Alzheimer problem. A genetically engineered virus which he injects into a chimpanzee transforms the animal’s mental abilities. Following a violent outburst, the chimp is put down but leaves a baby behind which the scientist raises at home as though it were a child.