To Walk with Lions

When my mother died, her rabbi was on vacation, so we got the pickup rabbi at the funeral, one of those creatures out of a ridiculous story. He mispronounced her English name, got her Hebrew name wrong, and spoke in platitudes about someone none of us recognized. He called upon the people gathered to speak, and while the family sat in shock, her neighbor got up, advanced to the podium, and drily said "That's not the Horty Lipton I knew." And she told some stories about my mother that were not entirely complimentary, and we all relaxed, because she was telling the truth.

Remember BORN FREE? It turns out that te Adamsons (played here by Richard Harris and Honor Blackman) were a lot crankier than portrayed in that movie. Here we witness the final days of George Adamson, as he struggles with poachers and indifference, to keep his wildlife sanctuary going, through the eyes of Tony Fitzjohn, played here by John Michie. There are also a lot of lions.

I don't know how accurate this movie, co-written by Fittzjohn is. People are complex, and memories ar.... well, not imperfect, but too story-like to sum up reality. But I believe that this movie is about the George Adamson that Fitzjohn knew.

This film I thought was very entertaining and well worth watching if you like Africa, animals, stunning scenery, or Richard Harris. It'story follows 2 old men as they live in the outbacks of Africa whilst teaching a young man something (CAN'T REMEMBER). One of the men is in love with lions and the other elephants and they try to defend them from poachers. The ending is shockingly violent and tragic but overall the film is an enjoyable experience.

I highly recommend this film. Such a shame Richard can't do any more films like this...

peace out

I enjoyed this film very much. My granddaughter who is 12 couldn't get through it. Because it is about George Adamson, of Born Free fame, you may be tempted to get this as a movie for the family to watch together. It's real appeal is to those of us past a certain age where we begin to think about the end of life as much as about the beginning. Richard Harris is incredible in this film as a man who refuses to let the changes time has wrought on his part of Africa or his body make him compromise any of his principles. This film will make you believe he has a spiritual connection to the lions, that lions are closer to humans than we'd like to admit. George Adamson is a much more interesting character in this movie than in the Born Free movies. The photography of Africa is spectacular, the scenes of poaching heartbreaking. This is a grown up movie about grown up issues, but it is not an unrelenting downer. It will probably inspire you to do something a little more important with the time you have left.

Richard Harris is amazing as George Adamson, an old man obsessed with returning captive lions to the wild in spite of poachers, politics and his own personal demons. Based on the life of George Adamson, Joy "Born Free" Adamson's husband, the movie has a flock of really great characters wonderfully played by all sorts of semi-stars (Ian Bannen, Geraldine Chaplin, etc.). I'd see it again.

All I can say about this movie is...wow! Its a fascinating retelling of the later years in George Adamson's incredible life. Richard Harris is a spitting image of the ageing Adamson and the supporting cast (particularly the late Ian Bannen) are excellent. There is nothing to fault with this film....an absolute classic! Its criminal why this film suffered a very limited release. Hopefully it will do a Shawshank Redemption and enjoy the praise it deserves, now its out on video.