Sharkwater Extinction

Apex predators.

(2018) Documentary (Freestyle) Rob Stewart, Will Allen, Steven Kajura, Regi Domingo, Neil Hammerschlag, Tommy Melo, Luis Guillermo Solis, Ryan Orgera, Gordon Hubbell, Deborah Mash, Brock Cahill, Randall Arauz, Rusty Hudson, Eva Meyers, Maike Heidermeyer, Stan Shay, Claire Nouvian, Rebecca Aldsworth, Ryan Walton, Juney Ward, Sarah Fowler. Directed by Rob Stewart

 

The shark is a much feared and much misunderstood creature. Peter Benchley and Steven Spielberg did the beast no favors; human fatalities as a result of shark attacks are actually pretty rare. More people die by being trampled by elephants than die from shark attacks.

Filmmaker/activist and proud Canadian Rob Stewart has had a love for sharks ever since his first encounter with one at age nine. He has become a champion for the species; his 2006 documentary Sharkwater which showed the practice of finning – the removal of shark fins for use in shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy after which the sharks are thrown back in the water where they inevitably die – has thinned the shark population to dangerously low levels. His documentary got the practice of finning banned in over 90 countries.

This sequel is more or less a status report as Stewart and his team go around the world to see if the ban is holding. Spoiler/No spoiler alert – not really. Several countries which have banned the practice effectively look the other way while fishermen continue to do it, while others (like Costa Rica, known for their progressive stance on environmental matters) have quietly weakened their laws.

Stewart also hoped to get people to see sharks in a different light, portraying them as almost cuddly and certainly not threatening, although anyone who has seen a shark movie will certainly have trouble accepting them as such. There is some gorgeous cinematography as we see these majestic predators in their element as Stewart explains their importance in the eco-system.

Tragically, this is an uncompleted film; Stewart died in January 2017 while diving off Key Largo to film the elusive Sawfish Shark. He was using a rebreather, diving equipment which converts carbon dioxide back to oxygen and allows divers to dive deeper and for longer periods. The mixture in his tank turned out to be incorrect and he died of hypoxia, after disappearing during his last dive which is shown in the film. Considering all the bad players that he pissed off, it makes one wonder if his death was an accident.

I noticed that Stewart’s narration in this film was a lot more restrained here than in his previous film. I suspect that is because he was planning on re-recording it. At times it’s hard to find the passion and enthusiasm that he clearly possessed for the subject, but it’s hard to fault the film considering the circumstances.

His loss is an incalculable one to the environmental activist community. Men like him can’t be replaced. This film will be part of his legacy. He only lived 37 years, but that’s not a bad epitaph to leave behind.

REASONS TO SEE: Beautiful shark footage.
REASONS TO AVOID: The narration’s a bit stiff.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some disturbing content.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Following Stewart’s death, his family hired additional directors to finish the film. However, only Stewart got official credit as director.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango Now, Google Play, Hoopla, Microsoft, Vudu, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 6/12/20: Rotten Tomatoes: 85% positive reviews: Metacritic: 76/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Oceans
FINAL RATING: 7.5/10
NEXT: The Soul Collector

Advertisement

Sides of a Horn

A sight we may not be able to see for very much longer.

(2018) Drama Short (Whitlow Park) Wellie Nzuza, Sheldon Marema, Ayanda Seoka, Dimpho Motloung, Motheo Mope, Petrus Maduna, Mpho Noko, Johnny Kaledi, Emmanuel Castis, Khanyisile Sebolai, Tshepiso Molati, Tonny Sebolai, Keorapetse Matji. Directed by Toby Wosskow

 

The African rhinoceros is one of the oldest species still extant on the planet, around 50 million years or so. If current estimates hold, the animal will be extinct in the wild within ten years. Much of that is due to a belief in certain Asian nations that the powdered rhino horn brings virility in a male. We are all about our dicks, after all. For that there’s a good chance that we will see them exist only in zoos and wildlife parks in our lifetimes.

This short is about Dumi (Nzuza) who works as a ranger for a wildlife protection agency in South Africa. He has come home to his village to visit his sister who is dying of a wasting disease. Her husband Sello (Marema) works as a wood cutter and doesn’t make enough to afford to take his wife to a doctor. Dumi offers to help out when he gets paid next week but that could be too late for the dying woman. Sello will do anything to protect his family; Dumi will do anything to protect his land. The two are headed on a collision course and don’t even know it.

The short 17-minute film has a powerful story that shows a surprisingly balanced view of a thorny problem that envelops modern Africa. On the one hand, they are fighting for their land and their heritage, trying to protect the wildlife which is native and part of a delicately balanced ecology. On the other hand, they are fighting terrible poverty in which even the most basic services are out of reach for a significant percentage of the population. Exacerbating everything is simple human greed – powdered rhino horn fetches lavish prices in Asia.

The cinematography by Nico Aguilar is beyond breathtaking. Filming was done in villages and game preserves where the rhino poaching issue is an everyday affair. As gripping as the story is, however, the pacing felt a little rushed, as if Wosskow were in a hurry to get this out in the world. I can’t say as I blame him if that is the case; every minute counts for a species that time is literally ticking down on.

The film was executive produced by Sir Richard Branson and is available free of charge in various places around the net a few of which are listed below in addition to the film’s website which can be reached by clicking on the picture above. In many ways, the rhino is almost incidental to the story onscreen which is a very human one although it remains distinctly at the center of the tale. When a wild rhino makes its appearance in the film, you can’t help but admire the magnificence of a creature which at the moment desperately needs our help to survive.

REASONS TO SEE: The cinematography is beautiful. Approaches the issues of poaching in South Africa from the points of view of both the conservationist and the poacher. The story is an important one and the dramatic tension is high.
REASONS TO AVOID: The story feels a bit rushed.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some brief violence.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: A poacher can get paid the equivalent of US $3,000 for a single rhino horn, enough to support his family for a full year.
BEYOND THE THEATER: African Wildlife Foundation, Vimeo, Virgin, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 6/25/19: Rotten Tomatoes: No score yet: Metacritic: No score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Forgotten Kingdom
FINAL RATING: 8/10
NEXT: Hot Doug’s: The Movie

Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale

Naledi goes walkies.

(2016) Nature Documentary (Netflix) Mike Chase, Wellington Jana, Brett Mitchell, Boago Poloko, Robert O’Brien. Directed by Ben Bowie and Geoff Luck

 

The plight of the African elephant is largely well-known now; poachers kill the majestic creatures at a terrifying rate of 96-100 every day and all for their tusks which are highly prized particularly in Asia and the Middle East.

Naledi was born into this situation. We witness her first moments of life – her birth was captured on film – and that footage is absolutely incredible. It’s definitely one of the highlights of the movie. From there, Naledi’s life isn’t easy. Her mother dies of disease when she’s only a month old and the men of the elephant preserve camp in Botswana where she was born have to fight to keep the baby alive. It’s no easy matter.

Mike Chase, one of the camp’s directors, is an outspoken advocate for the elephants and regularly addresses governments and NGOs to discuss the elephants and what can be done to save them. Much of the film in fact focuses on the Great African Census, an attempt to get an idea of how many elephants are left in the wild and sadly the numbers are a lot worse than feared. Preserves where once hundreds and thousands of elephants lived have fewer than a dozen still in the wild. Poachers, who are paid princely sums of money (for that part of the world) for the tusks, have to get bolder as their prey get fewer. Chase explains that those who employ the poachers – the distributors of ivory – actually want the elephants to go extinct. When the elephants are gone after all their ivory will skyrocket in price. I don’t think I’ve heard a greater indictment of the sickness of greed and the excesses of capitalism in my life.

That the current situation involving African elephants is absolutely critical is a given. The question that faces a film reviewer here is do they present the information in a way that will move people to action or at least sympathy and the answer is clearly yes. However, one must also look at the title of the film and perhaps take a step back.

The title seems to imply that the story here is Naledi and we do get to see a lot of her. She’s one of the cutest animal characters that you’ll ever see and she has a ton of personality. DisneyNature has made their mark anthropomorphizing animals and telling stories using the footage they gather; that’s not necessary here. The footage by itself tells the story and the animal herself is enthralling without assigning voiceover characteristics to her. Points to the filmmakers for that.

But if you think you’re getting a cute Disney-esque story about a baby elephant, that’s only about half the film. Most of it is an environmental treatise which, as previously stated, does present the plight of the species eloquently but in all honesty there are plenty of other films that have done that as well including Netflix own The Ivory Game. Quite frankly, if I had to choose between the two films to educate an audience about what’s going on with African elephants, I would choose The Ivory Game over Naledi. Perhaps the filmmakers were hoping to bring in a family demographic with the promise of cute baby elephants but I’m not so sure this is entirely appropriate for family audiences, particularly those with sensitive sorts in it. Naledi’s story is not an easy one to watch all the time.

Still, one can’t complain about a film for bringing an important subject to the table, even if they are essentially repeating things that have already been said. It also should be said that the filmmakers turn their attention to the Great Elephant Census which is helping activists focus efforts on where it is needed the most, something that wasn’t mentioned in The Ivory Game that I can recall. Chase is heavily involved in that project. The movie is a little rough for the wee ones but those who care about elephants should see it, even if the filmmakers are preaching to the choir.

The movie had a theatrical debut at the Seattle International Film Festival late last year and but really only played a few festivals before heading to Netflix. The streaming giant hasn’t really publicized the movie much if at all and there are few reviews of it out there. The movie is certainly flawed but it deserves better, even if it is false advertising to a certain extent. At the very least it makes a fine companion piece to The Ivory Game and the early scenes of Naledi are worth seeing all by themselves. One must also consider the grim option that if things continue to go the way they’re going, the only place to see these magnificent animals will be on films like this – after the last one is gone.

REASONS TO GO: Naledi has an engaging and adorable personality. As you might expect, the cinematography is wonderful.
REASONS TO STAY: The dual story between Naledi and the conservation efforts doesn’t always mesh well.
FAMILY VALUES: There are some adult themes as well as some disturbing images.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The Great Elephant Census is largely funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Netflix
CRITICAL MASS: As of 7/30/17: Rotten Tomatoes: No score yet. Metacritic: No score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Born in China
FINAL RATING: 7/10
NEXT: The Exception

Birdshot

What better time to hunt with your dog than dawn?

(2016) Thriller (CJ Entertainment) Mary Joy Apostol, Manuel Aquino, John Arcilla, Arnold Reyes. Directed by Mikhail Red

The world is a hard and often cruel place. Sometimes it feels like the powers that be are far more interested in symbols than in people. For those who live on the fringes of society, eking out an existence as best they can, getting caught in the machinations of the powerful is a daily struggle to survive.

Maya (Apostol) is a young teenage girl whose father Diego (Aquino) is the caretaker for a nature preserve in the rural Philippines. He is trying to teach her how to hunt so that she can one day fend for herself if something happens to him. She has difficulties with pulling the trigger and killing a helpless animal, much to the frustration of her dad.

Mendoza (Arcilla) is a cop and relatively new to the force. He has been partnered with Domingo (Reyes), a cynical veteran who doesn’t mind bending the rules every so often. The big news around that part of the Philippines is a bus full of farmers that disappeared on their way to Manila. Domingo interrogates a low-level criminal who might know something about the missing bus. The interrogation is a bit too brutal for Mendoza but he backs his partner, especially when the information he gets leads to the discovery of the bus in the wildlife preserve that Diego takes care of. Of the passengers there is no sign except for a piece of cloth from a shirt near the edge of the jungle.

Maya goes into the preserve to prove herself to her dad and she finally finds success, shooting a large bird. The bird turns out to be a Philippine eagle which is on the endangered species list; the preserve’s rangers keep careful count of the number of them left in the preserve. Diego is understandably upset. He makes Maya bury the bird and the gun that it was shot with and awaits the arrival of the police.

The investigation into the disappearance of the bus has met with official resistance, much to Mendoza’s surprise. The two cops are ordered to discontinue their efforts to find the missing passengers and instead look into a missing Philippine eagle from the wildlife preserve. Domingo urges Mendoza to give up on the case having seen what happens to cops who disobey their superior officers but Mendoza can’t give up the case, having spoken with the wife of one of the missing who beseeches him to find out what happened to her husband. The two cops go out to interview Diego about the missing eagle; Mendoza notices that Maya is wearing an eagle claw on a makeshift necklace. Domingo resolves to bring in Diego for questioning.

Diego knows he is about to be taken in and assumes that he’ll be back by the end of the evening; he urges his daughter to stay out of sight until he comes home. Mendoza receives a threat to his family that changes his outlook. The interrogation of Diego becomes more brutal and suddenly Diego is locked up overnight with hardened criminals who are plotting an escape. When the escape is successful but the criminals commit a horrific act in getting away, Diego is forced to flee. He makes his way home with the cops hot on his trail; a reckoning is bound to occur.

Red is an emerging talent in Filipino filmmaking. He has only made two films in his nascent career but both have been highly acclaimed and won film festival awards. His latest is a genre mash-up that starts out with two seemingly disparate stories – one a police procedural, the other a rural coming-of-age tale – that are slowly weaved into a single tale. Red who also co-wrote the film skillfully merges the two stories into one, a feat that is attempted pretty regularly in indie cinema these days but rarely as successfully as seen here.

There is a good deal of social commentary to be had here. Red makes clear that he feels that society values the lives of the rural residents less than the life of a bird. There is also a look at the corruption that is rampant in the law enforcement of the Philippines; considering that the war on drugs undertaken by the dictatorial president of the Philippines has led to the deaths and disappearances of thousands of Filipinos, the film is timely indeed.

The vistas of the rural Philippines are beautifully shot and make an excellent background to the ugliness of the souls of those who are in power. Red makes good use of the landscapes in the Philippine backwaters and crafts an extraordinarily beautiful movie. Unfortunately, the movie does move at a somewhat elephantine pace and is probably a good 15 minutes too long; some of the action here is redundant and unnecessary. The shocking ending is quite depressing as well.

Still, there is a lot going for the film for more patient viewers. Red is definitely a voice who has something valid to say and a talent we’re very likely to hear a lot more from in the future. If he keeps on making films like this, you might just be seeing his name on big Hollywood features in the not-too-distant future.

REASONS TO GO: The cinematography is gorgeous. It’s a very interesting view on corruption in the Philippines in an era in which they are being run by a dictator.
REASONS TO STAY: The pacing is slow and the movie is a bit on the long side. The ending is a bit of a downer.
FAMILY VALUES: There is violence and profanity and a scene of dog peril.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The film debuted at last year’s Tokyo Film festival where it won Best Asian Futures Film, an award given to directors who have the most potential to shape filmmaking in Asia in the coming decade.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 7/8/17: Rotten Tomatoes: No score yet. Metacritic: No score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Hell or High Water
FINAL RATING: 7.5/10
NEXT: Jane

Racing Extinction

Bringing the Blue Whale to you.

(2015) Documentary (Abramorama) Louie Psihoyos, Shawn Heinrichs, Elon Musk, Jane Goodall, Christopher W. Clark, Leilani Munter, Ady Gil, Charles Hambleton, Austin Richards, Paul Hilton, Heather Dawn Rally, Michael Novacek, Travis Threikel, Stuart Pimm, Joel Sartore, Kirk Johnson, David Doubilet, Charlie Veron, Lester Brown, Synte Peacock, Elizabeth Kolbert. Directed by Louie Psihoyos

Louie Psihoyos, a former contributor to National Geographic (now Fox’s National Geographic), made a literal splash on the national cultural scene with his documentary/thriller The Cove, which exposed the mass slaughter of dolphins on a particular Japanese island. Now a committed marine activist, he turns his focus to a much broader issue.

We are undergoing one of the most massive carbon spikes in our atmosphere in the history of the planet; the amount of carbon in our atmosphere currently is thought to be higher than it was when the dinosaurs went extinct, a very sobering thought. One of the consequences of the increased carbon has that it has been getting absorbed by the ocean, our planet’s great filter. The result has that the ocean has been gradually become more acidic, which in turn has killed a significant amount of phytoplankton, which provides about 50% of the world’s oxygen.

There has also been a die-off of entire species, one of the worst in recorded history. Psihoyos and his band of eco-activists can show the direct link between the activities of man and the disappearance of species. He takes hidden cameras into Chinese merchants who sell endangered species for consumption – piles of shark fins piled as high as the eye can see and manta gills, taken because a group of natives in Malaysia believe that they cure cancer. Often the folk medicines of one small group can through the miracle of the internet and word of mouth become fashionable elsewhere. He also uses operatives to bust a trendy L.A. eatery for selling sushi made with endangered whale meat.

Psihoyos pairs up with tech CEO turned activist Shawn Heinrichs to expose those who are flouting the laws governing endangered species; he also utilizes some gorgeous images of whales, sharks and other marine life from cinematographers Sean Kirby, John Behrens and Petr Stepanek. Psihoyos states bluntly that part of his mission is to introduce these animals to a mass audience; hopefully getting people familiar with these species will inspire people to help save them.

While the facts that are given are sobering, the movie isn’t without a bit of fun. Psihoyos enlists race car driver Leilani Munter and projectionist Ady Gil to create mobile holographic displays on skyscrapers in New York (a demo of which can be seen above). And some of the animal footage is bound to bring a smile to your face.

There’s also the less fun stuff but is no less fascinating. Special filters allow us to see carbon and methane emissions going into the atmosphere from car exhausts, factories and cows. Like An Inconvenient Truth, Psihoyos uses graphs and charts to make his point. And while I tend to be a supporter of environmental causes, conservative readers will note that Psihoyos attributes almost all of the extinctions to man and certainly man is culpable for a lot of it, but some of the factors for some of these extinctions may be more Darwinist than capitalist.

All things considered, this is an important, serious subject which is treated with the gravity that it deserves. It does end on a hopeful note; there are things that we can do as individuals to help nurture the planet and assist in staving off a lot of the dire things that the movie refers to. I suspect that supporters of Donald Trump will probably find this an uncomfortable viewing and might write it off as liberal Pinko Hollywood alarmist propaganda. Certainly the movie has a point of view that appeals more to left-leaners. Still, this is vital viewing for all of us – the facts are indisputable and heart-breaking, particularly when you hear the warbling of a Hawaiian songbird, the last of his species, singing a mating call for a partner who will never come.

Incidentally, if Racing Extinction doesn’t play theatrically in a city near you, the movie will be broadcast on the Discovery channel later on this fall. Check your local listings for date and time. If you can’t see this in a theater – and I would urge you to so as to take advantage of some of the truly gorgeous imagery, then this would be the next best thing. Either way I would urge you to see it.

REASONS TO GO: Amazing cinematography. Sobering but hopeful.
REASONS TO STAY: May not appeal to those leaning to the right.
FAMILY VALUES: Some disturbing images.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: There is nothing trivial about this.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 9/19/15: Rotten Tomatoes: 80% positive reviews. Metacritic: 75/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Blackfish
FINAL RATING: 7.5/10
NEXT: Cop Car

Rio

Linda (foreground, in the blue) gets her inner samba on.

(2011) Animated Feature (20^th Century Fox) Starring the voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, George Lopez, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, will.i.am, Jamie Foxx, Tracy Morgan, Jermaine Clement, Carlos Ponce, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Thomas F. Wilson. Directed by Carlos Saldanha

The benchmarks for animated features have been Disney for traditional animations and Pixar for computer animations. While some recent entries into the field have shown some promise, for the most part the best animated features to come from places other than the Mouse have largely been those with their own style and subject matter.

Fox has had success with their Ice Age trilogy (a fourth entry makes its way into theaters next year) and the makers of those films have turned their eyes to more sultry climes, the Brazilian paradise of Rio de Janeiro. However, things start off initially in the Arctic-like environment of Moose Lake, Minnesota where lives Linda (Mann), who found a blue macaw that had been stolen from the rain forests of Brazil and sent to the United States for purchase (except it had fallen off the truck). Blu (Eisenberg) lives a very pampered life, warm and secure in Linda’s bookstore, wanting for nothing and being provided with every little need by the doting Linda. They have a wonderful life together.

Into their life walks Tulio (Santoro), a Brazilian ornithologist who informs Linda that Blu is one of only two blue macaws left in the world and that it is imperative that he be mated with the last female, who is in Rio. Because they have a controlled environment available in his bird research center, it is decided that it would be easier to bring Blu to the mountain rather than the mountain to Blu. Reluctantly, Linda agrees to it although she’s not too enthusiastic about leaving home – she has no desire to see the world, somewhat refreshing amongst spunky animated movie heroines.

Blu is flown down and shoved into a lovely environment with Jewel (Hathaway) who wants nothing more than to escape captivity. She is not really interested in mating, particularly with a pampered pet that can’t even fly. The two don’t get along at all which means of course they are going to get along GREAT by the end of the movie.

An amoral poacher named Marcel (Ponce) sends a couple of thugs and a nasty cockatoo named Nigel (Clements) to kidnap the two blues, knowing that as the last of their species they’ll fetch a hefty price. Together Blu and Jewel manage to escape and flee to the rain forest where they are aided by a crafty toucan named Rafael (Lopez), a couple of disreputable looking birds named Nico (Foxx) and Pedro (will.i.am) and a drooling doggie named Luis (Morgan). With Nigel and a barrelful of monkeys looking for them, Blu unable to fly and Linda and Tulio desperately searching for them, it will be a long walk back home. Oh, and did I mention it’s Carnival time in Rio?

In many ways this is the most Disney-like of all the Blue Sky/Fox films. From the score to the musical numbers, this looks and sounds very much like a traditional animated Disney film, from the bright colors to the cute, cuddly anthropomorphized parrots. This is going to appeal to the very young and the merchandising that’s sure to go on is going to drive the kiddies absolutely bonkers and their parents to the poorhouse.

The problem here is that all the color is on the screen – none of it went into the characters, who are all as bland as can be and could have been culled from dozens of animated movies and television shows. And for a movie set in Brazil there’s little to no spice and this movie could have used some. Brazil has some beautiful, exotic locations but one gets the feeling that the farthest the animators went to research their drawings was the Jungle River Cruise and Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland.

Sure, it’s a great looking movie but I for one am getting tired of animated features that extol kids to believe in themselves. Judging from surveys, self-belief and self-confidence isn’t something our children are lacking. Rio looks good but in the end it’s like cotton candy – colorful but lacking any substance.

REASONS TO GO: Lush and colorful, with some beautifully drawn images.

REASONS TO STAY: Stock characters and story; trying too hard to be Disney-esque and wind up without much of an identity.

FAMILY VALUES: This is absolutely fine for any family – nothing for parents to be concerned about for any ages.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The makers of the wildly popular Angry Birds game created a version of the game set in Rio as a tie-in with the movie.

HOME OR THEATER: It’s beautiful and the kids are gonna insist.

FINAL RATING: 5/10

TOMORROW: Hanna

Mountain Patrol: Kekexili

Even Olympic sprinters would have difficulty running at this altitude.

(Goldwyn) Duo Bujie, Zhang Lei, Qi Liang, Zhao Xueying, Ma Zhanlin. Directed by Lu Chuan

In the Tibetan highlands of the Kekexili pass, life is brutal and merciless. The altitude makes physical activity demanding, and the cold, thin air makes vegetation sparse and unappealing. There is little of value there – but some things more precious than gold.

The Kekexili pass is the last remaining habitat of the Tibetan antelope. Once numbering in the millions, the animal had been hunted by poachers to near-extinction, with less than 10,000 remaining of the breed by the mid-90s. Appalled at the unabated slaughter of the animal, a group of Tibetan men took it upon themselves to protect them against the poachers.

They have no government support and almost no supplies. They have little authority which mainly consists of confiscating illegally poached antelope pelts. They are poorly armed and in harms way, demonstrated as the movie opens with the brutal execution of one of the Patrol’s members.

Chinese journalist Ga Yu (Lei) arrives in the village where the patrol is based just in time to make the funeral of the executed patrol member. These funerals are referred to as Sky Burials by the locals. Afterwards, Ga is taken to the leader of the patrol, Ritai (Bujie). Formerly a member of the military, he has taken leave from his unit to lead the patrol. Taciturn, brooding but with a deep abiding love for the land and its creatures, he proposes to lead a patrol to find the poacher who executed his man. This poacher has grown progressively bolder and with him murdering a member of the patrol, the time has come to take action against him.

The patrol goes out, with Ga in tow and Ritai’s right hand man Liu Dong (Liang). They capture a family of poachers who have ties to the one who murdered the patrol member and manage to extract the location of the bandit in question. However, the journey is a long and difficult one, and it becomes clear that they will be unable to continue the mission with the entire team and the captured poachers. They release their prisoners and Liu is sent back to the village with the injured and sick. Once Liu gets to the medical clinic, however, it becomes clear that they can’t afford the fees for treatment. Ritai instructs him to sell some of the pelts. Ga is aghast at this but Ritai tells him, matter-of-factly that the government had not sent any financial support in over a year.

One of their trucks breaks down, so Ritai and Ga head after the poachers alone, leaving the men to wait for Liu Dong, knowing that if he cannot find them they will die very quickly in the unforgiving environment of the Kekexili. And what of Ritai? Outnumbered and outgunned, how can he hope to take down the poacher who he has chased into the very roof of the world?

This movie takes place in a bleak and harsh landscape and in many ways the storyline reflects this. Director Chuan’s cast is mainly amateurs, with the exception of Lei and Bujie. They do exceptionally good jobs in conveying the kind of men who live such a difficult existence, but carry with them a great passion for the land and the things that live in it. The name “Kekexili” in their language means “beautiful mountains” and also “beautiful maidens.” For them, the highlands are both.

Bujie makes a fine heroic figure, a man fully aware of how tough his men need to be to survive, but at the same time fiercely protective of them. Handsome in a rugged way, this is the kind of role that Jack Palance or Robert De Niro would have taken on had they been younger or Tibetan (preferably both).

The real star here is the Kekexili itself. Cinematographer Cao Yu is one of the best in the world at what he does, and he makes wonderful use of the beautifully bleak vistas. So alien is the landscape that it almost seems another planet. Still, in the harshness there is great beauty and poetry, and it is captured nicely.

So too is the life of those who live in the Kekexili, a life filled with little promise but still lived with great joy. The Tibetan villagers are a rugged lot – they have to be to survive in an unforgiving place as the Kekexili, where one misstep, one mistake can mean death.

The movie is based on actual events – the mountain patrol really existed in the mid-90s, although this is a fictionalized account of their deeds. The movie has gone on to great acclaim in Asia, and has brought about changes in how the Chinese government deals with poachers. There is now a military patrol that actively prosecutes poaching in the Kekexili highlands and the size of the antelope herd has more than tripled since the movie was set.

This is a look at a culture as alien as the one displayed in Avatar, yet it is here in our world. The movie is unrelentingly grim in many ways, and it doesn’t end well for all those who are portrayed in it. Still, it is a fascinating movie, beautifully photographed and well worth a look, even if you’re not fond of subtitles (the movie’s dialogue is almost entirely in Mandarin and Tibetan). We seldom get to see what is going on in our own attic, but this movie gives us a glimpse at a place and a culture we rarely are able to see. That’s all the incentive I need to see a movie like this one.

WHY RENT THIS: Stunning landscapes of harsh barrenness are breathtaking. A rare look into a part of the world rarely seen onscreen.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The bleakness of the scenery carries over into the movie, which may be a bit too disturbing and grim for some.

FAMILY VALUES: There’s a little bit of sexuality and several disturbing scenes, particularly the shooting of an antelope and the death by quicksand of one of the patrol.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The scene in which the antelope is shot utilizes a Mongolian Gazelle as actual Tibetan antelope are protected by international and Chinese law. The crew affixed the antlers of an antelope and filmed the shooting with two cameras. Some of the crew were very upset by this and the animal was given a funeral and buried.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: None listed.

FINAL RATING: 7/10

TOMORROW: Home