First let me say I congratulate Cher and all the others who saved this elephant for their actions. That is laudable. Now lets look at the documentary.
It is flat and empty. Cher's part is almost a walk-on. Despite her being instrumental in clearing away all the red tape: from dealing with the zoo to the airlines to the transportation team to the government where the elephant was to the government where the elephant was given sanctuary to the sanctuary itself I have no doubt it was Cher's celebrity that opened all those closed doors BUT the documentary barely even mentions those things.
We see a lot of the elephant in its original zoo. Most of the film is about getting the elephant ready to transport. Then we see a little of the transportation and less of after the elephant was relocated into a temporary holding pen. They tell us how great the temporary holding pen is compared to the miserable conditions it lived its life in. We are told of how that elephant will be released into a virtual paradise. We see a little of that paradise and how great its life will be. And then the documentary ends with the elephant in that temporary facility. Smh
Why didn't they spend time focusing on the urgent problems, chronologically, and Cher's role in the diplomacy required to solve them? That would have added a dramatic element and actually given Cher enough credit, and screen time, to be mentioned in the title.
Why didn't they show us the elephant happily living in the sanctuary interacting with other elephants and enjoying its freedom?
It looks more like someone decided, at the very last minute, to cobble together a documentary and didn't have any time to plan it properly from the beginning or to follow it through to a satisfying ending.
This could have been an very uplifting film - enjoyable for all to see. Instead it is a mess that ends flat leaving the viewers wishing they could see the elephant enjoying its freedom.
For those, and other reasons, this documentary simply misses the mark.
It is flat and empty. Cher's part is almost a walk-on. Despite her being instrumental in clearing away all the red tape: from dealing with the zoo to the airlines to the transportation team to the government where the elephant was to the government where the elephant was given sanctuary to the sanctuary itself I have no doubt it was Cher's celebrity that opened all those closed doors BUT the documentary barely even mentions those things.
We see a lot of the elephant in its original zoo. Most of the film is about getting the elephant ready to transport. Then we see a little of the transportation and less of after the elephant was relocated into a temporary holding pen. They tell us how great the temporary holding pen is compared to the miserable conditions it lived its life in. We are told of how that elephant will be released into a virtual paradise. We see a little of that paradise and how great its life will be. And then the documentary ends with the elephant in that temporary facility. Smh
Why didn't they spend time focusing on the urgent problems, chronologically, and Cher's role in the diplomacy required to solve them? That would have added a dramatic element and actually given Cher enough credit, and screen time, to be mentioned in the title.
Why didn't they show us the elephant happily living in the sanctuary interacting with other elephants and enjoying its freedom?
It looks more like someone decided, at the very last minute, to cobble together a documentary and didn't have any time to plan it properly from the beginning or to follow it through to a satisfying ending.
This could have been an very uplifting film - enjoyable for all to see. Instead it is a mess that ends flat leaving the viewers wishing they could see the elephant enjoying its freedom.
For those, and other reasons, this documentary simply misses the mark.