The Ivory Game: Das Elfenbein-Komplott

It makes it is so clear that the ivory trade is funded by the rich and the rich have created the market for it. Because normal people can't really afford to buy ivory that's $2000 plus.

This is a must see documentary about the desperate battle to save the elephant from extinction, and at the same time save some remnants of the beautiful natural heritage of a planet for future generations. We say we love our children, but what kind of world are we leaving them. See the front line defenders of these majestic beasts in some of Africa's leading game parks, as well as dedicated investigators and campaigners around the world, bravely trying to stop the criminal and barbaric syndicates from plying their deadly trade.

The documentary explores operations of poachers in Africa and further trafficking of illegal ivory to Asia where it is sold to local wholesalers who subsequently can deliver it to your doorstep a 'nominal' fee. The undercover footage gives the documentary great validity and evidential basis. Must be watched - thought-provoking and horrifyingly real.

Very good about an unspoken problem, we live in a world where people care more about how they look and what they can buy than actually solving real problems we create.

Documentary film seen on the 10th to the 11th of March 2021.

This gets a passing grade because it's an important subject and has some compelling moments, but as a film, I thought this was quite weak, or at least lacking.

I got the sense that a great deal of footage was shot around a broad subject, without much in the way of structure or narrative planned ahead, and then the finished film came together in the editing. There are a few stories going on at once, and while the interviews and editing do their best to connect it all, but I didn't buy it. It felt less like a full feature film and more like watching a 6-part miniseries where you only catch 20 minutes of the first episode, 20 minutes of the second, and so on.

Hunting an endangered species like the elephant only for their ivory is terrible, and I admire the people in this film for devoting themselves to making it a thing of the past. It's important to expose the individuals and institutions who allow such a trade to happen, and if this film has changed the world at large for the better, then it deserves praise. But if you want a story, or something that progresses in a logical fashion, or just something that's compelling in a way that the best documentaries out there are, you may not find it with The Ivory Game.

Despite featuring competent visuals, music, and knowledgeable interviewees, it doesn't flow at all and is surprisingly unengaging. It's a noble film and overall not a terrible one; more just one that isn't very involving or exciting. If it sounds really up your alley, I could give it a hesitant recommendation, but otherwise I'd say go watch any of the other 5,000,000 documentaries currently on Netflix.