John Wells: The Monkey Puzzle

Overview

Why do we work? Why are we made miserable by having to work, and even more miserable when we can't? What is work? Can work be called work when it's fun? Is the need to work inborn in man? John Wells embarks on a serious investigation of this subject. Lacking a man from Mars with an innocent, impartial and uncorrupted view of human society, he enlists the help of Max, a chimpanzee. Max proves a willing pupil in learning our language. With unashamed zest he sets out to answer the question 'Why work?', interviewing five learned humans who have already been grappling with the problem. Using valuable film archive material, Max presents his findings in the form of short monkey documentaries.