Thanks for checking out our The Zookeeper Review
Genre: Drama
Directed by: Ralph Ziman
Staring: Sam Neill, Gina McKee and Ulrich Thomsen
Released: Nov 23 2010
THE GENERAL IDEA
A city zoo in an Eastern European country is abandoned when war ravages the city. Ludovic, a cynical ex-communist with a troubled past, and the vet decide to stay and take care of the animals despite the bombing and lack of supplies. Parisans soon take the Indian vet away, leaving Ludovic alone to take care of teh animals. That is, until he discovers a woulnded 10 year old boy hiding in the zoo compound. After being nursed back to health the boy brings his mother to the zoo. Ludovic is now forced to take a political stand – force the two out of the zoo or protect them and risk the zoo’s destruction by occupying forces.
THE GOOD
The quiet dignity and strong resolve of Sam Neill’s performance shows just how different the roles he can play. He did great for the role he was played in this movie, and the boy who he shares most of his screen time with is a gifted young man as well. Solid performances from both of them.
The atmosphere in the film is bleak and you feel it in the emptiness of every set, every facial expression and every slow and quiet scene. The only punctuating sounds outside of the quiet of the zoo are the explosions and echoes of gunfire in the city beyond the zoo walls.
THE BAD
Despite the strong tone of the film and the harsh reality, I never really found myself emotionally commited to the movie. When significant characters are met with tragic situations, I just didn’t feel for them. It just happens.
The story is empty, which parallels their experiences but I just couldnt feel for the characters. In what should have been a struggling closure in the film had me feeling more indifferent altogether.
OVERALL
The movie was dramatic, and while there were scenes which served to illustrate the severity of the localized civil war, had nothing to do with the plot as a whole. I just wasn’t emotionally sympathetic to their bleak circumstances and didnt get sucked into the movie like I thought I would.
I give The Zookeeper a 4 out of 10
