Why are all the honeybees disappearing? The masterful Colony investigates this bewildering phenomenon through its intimate portraits of creatures, including us, affected by a natural system gone awry. Among a host of colorful characters, we meet beekeepers such as the Seppis, a struggling Christian family that works with almond growers in California, plus a veteran apiarist who first identified the problem and a long-haul pollinator who begins to finger pesticide companies. Colony is a noteworthy touchstone of the new documentary, highlighted by an intriguing soundtrack and rich cinematography sprinkled amidst the journalism. In Carter Gunn and Ross McDonnell’s hands, a large, unwieldy development is explained with both science and visual poetry, without the need for stuffy narration, stiff interviews, pounding music and all the other conventions of old-wave documentaries. (PS)