Running Wild

This film's strong point is its wildlife photography. With actual footage of the true events it's loosely based on, it has a very authentic feel. However, the story itself and its themes left me somewhat unsatisfied.

Not as entertaining as, say, "Free Willy" and not as powerful as "Gorillas in the Mist", this movie missed some great opportunities to be more than it is. Only in the last 5 minutes do we get a glimpse of Varty's philosophical thoughts on conservationism. I really enjoyed that part, and if Varty is to do another film I would hope he includes a lot more of it. But most of the movie consists of nice leopard footage without much deeper commentary.

The story itself doesn't really focus on the global problems of conservation but instead focuses on the specific efforts to save 2 cubs, and without much drama in that respect, that's why the film loses strength. There are 2 villains in the movie: 1) a sleazy corporate suit who is trying to destroy the film project; and 2) a corrupt game warden who's trying to spoil Varty's plans to rehabilitate the cubs. Neither of these antagonists really relates to the global problem, thereby making the story a bit mundane. Like I said, only at the end does Varty offer some deep thoughts.

Another missed opportunity is that the movie fails to address the theme of interfering with nature (here in a productive way) which the DVD description led me to expect. A wildlife documentarian is supposed to be truly objective, not interfering in any of the scenes no matter how disturbing they may be. Varty crosses the line, which I found very interesting. But the film doesn't really address that. Crikey, that theme could've been powerful enough to carry the whole film.

So in the end we get a lot of pretty footage but not much else. Oh one more warning: leopards are predators of course, so while they look extremely fuzzy & cute, they do kill their food. I don't recall much footage of actual kills, mostly just bloody wildebeest carcasses afterwards, but either way it kinda kills the "awww" feeling.

I'm glad this film is out there because there aren't many conservation films in the world, and even worse, many of them make conservationists look like maladjusted freakshows (like Herzog's "Grizzly Man"). But I would sooner recommend "Gorillas in the Mist" or, for kids, "Sandy the Seal". Another film that comes to mind is the Vietnamese movie "Buffalo Boy" which is more about human nature than animals, but the story is about a guy who leads a pair of caribous for days in search of food & water. Great photography there.

The only reason I turned this movie on is because I am a Brooke Shields fan. And I like Martin Sheen as well. The plot didn't appeal to me at first. But after watching this movie for a few minutes, I fell in love. With these two ADORABLE cheeta cubs! The movie is loosely based on a true story about a woman who pulled in by a man's story of his 12 year devotion to a cheeta and her life. Now this mother cheeta has cubs that need taking care of. Brooke's character wants to make a movie about this man's story. Anyways, it's real cute, and if you get the chance, take a look. I am sure you'll like it, and if not, you'll be at least saying "AWWWW!!!" a lot!!

I really enjoyed this movie , a good story , with plenty of wildlife footage , sometimes a bit too upsetting though , but then that is sadly the reality of nature .

I shed a tear or two several times .

Wonderful scenery and amazing wildlife , I think it deserves a higher rating .

Brooke Shields I thought was great in the part , so genuine ,and seemed comfortable in her role .

All in all , a good movie , well worth a watch if you like wildlife stories.

As far as plots go, this film has little, a woman who works for an American mega-media corporation travels to Africa to meet a bloke who lives in a tree along with his faithful native assistant. The two men have spent the last twelve years following a female leopard and her many broods. The plan is for our intrepid city slick to make a film about this valiant creature. Alas, she is already living on borrowed time, and just as the project is commissioned, the lions catch up with her. What now?

The two cubs from her latest brood have survived, but won't for much longer unless they are rescued by nature boy and his sidekick. They are, now the cubs are pursued by predators on two legs who want to flog them to a zoo.

Those who remember that Nature is red in tooth and claw will surely not sentimentalise over the fate of these cute but rapidly growing carnivores. Where the film does score is the stunning footage of wildlife, most of which does not appear to be from the archive.

This wasn't much of a story and Martin Sheen did probably the worst job of acting I've ever seen him do, but it doesn't really matter because the essence of the movie is the wildlife photography.

John Varty, a British conservationist living in Africa, plays himself in this story of him raising two baby leopards and finding a home for them. Brooke Shields is an American writer looking to write about a story about it. She's just in the movie to show her pretty face and say, "Aww, aren't they cute?" That's about all she does, which gets a little annoying after awhile.

Some of the photography is spectacular, with beautiful scenery and a disturbing scene or two (i.e. a crocodile trying to eat a water buffalo.) The language is very mild, with only three swear words, probably put in to get a "PG" rating.