Elephant Refugees (2022) Film Review
There’s a misconception regarding documentaries, and more specifically, documentaries that portray a situation having to do with environmental activism, and ecology related subjects. Yes, they need to be celebrated as they are extremely important statements to consider by audiences who perhaps aren’t as connected with current matters.
However, they still should be well made. Their subject doesn’t automatically make them good movies. You need a script, a direction. You need to put together a message and format it in a way that’s cinematic. Otherwise, why not make a news report?
This is a risk in Elephant Refugees, a film with valuable footage and even more interesting subject. When a community becomes infested with elephants trying to get a drop of water anyway possible, they realize they must do something to keep control of the situation. This is a remote place: Moller family’s bush lodge, Elephant Sands in Botswana, where elephant poaching became illegal years ago.
Of course, the footage shows elephants interacting with a setting that’s not very common outside of a safari. They have even learned how to open faucets. It’s the happy aspect of the situation. But there’s more to the story. The dynamics of elephant herds are changing and the community can’t keep up with this shift in nature. It’s terribly dramatic.
In this argument the film takes place. It’s an opportunity to learn more about inevitable neighbors. The family who runs the place aren’t desperate, but they seem preoccupied with how things are going and control is scarce. It’s ironic to carry out an ecology-based message when the invasion is causing issues in how the business stays afloat. This becomes clear when a pool is ruined by the elephants presence and what they leave behind.
In conclusion, the footage is amazing. It’s the reason why the film exists. It’s the evidence of a statement that perhaps isn’t well translated in the end. The goal is reached, and the audience learns about a situation that’s relevant, but Elephant Refugees works better when it doesn’t try to be something else than what it must be. This is an informative documentary about something very curious that we need to observe, but I don’t believe it will stay on your mind permanently.
Nevertheless, wild elephants opening a faucet or reaching for the toilet, and drinking the water? Oh yes. That’s gold.
