Trophy

Greetings again from the darkness. Totally unexpected is a documentary on big game hunting that doesn't come down squarely on one side of this argument. Co-directors Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz do an admirable job of laying out the facts and leaving the viewer to contemplate how these moving pieces create a blurred line between conservation and commerce.

Expect a couple of scenes that might be difficult to watch – after all, it is a documentary on hunting animals. There are plenty of facts and statistics provided, with one of the most staggering being since 1970, the world has lost 60% of its wild animals. Rhinos alone are down from 500,000 to 30,000, and we meet a rhino breeder who has devoted his life and fortune to saving the species. On the surface, his stance seems difficult to debate, but African law prevents the sale of rhino horn, which means this breeder is sitting on millions of dollars of warehoused horns, while poachers profit by picking off his animals and selling the horns on the black market. Not so clear now, is it?

Additional segments involve elephants, alligators, and other species. We visit the massive Safari Club hunting convention in Las Vegas, as well as stock auctions where breeders battle over the next generation. The safari clubs argue that much of the money big game hunters pay is distributed back into the conservation efforts of the country, though the corruption of politicians can't be ignored.

The contrast between shooters and hunters, killers and sportsmen, is noted and legitimate detailed information is provided. Focus goes to the "Big 5": hunters trying to bag each of water buffalo, leopard, elephant, lion and rhino. The process is slow and expensive, and the three affected tentacles – hunting, breeding, conservation - have evolved to facilitate the future of the species and those dependent on the industries.

Hunter's remorse is admitted, as is a connection to the animals by the otherwise stoic and businesslike breeders. When one hunter quotes the bible in saying that man shall have dominion over animals, it's a reminder that no matter one's stance on these topics, there is always an argument to be had and a defense to be made. The still unanswered question is, can the industry be run in a manner that allows the animals to survive, the villagers to benefit, and the vendors to profit? In theory, this seems doable … but reality and self-interest often destroy best intentions.

It's always neat when a documentary takes the audience's preconceptions and uses them to reveal their ignorance. The film will punish the audience for judging too quickly by deliberately omitting information and revealing some unseen truth that changes what was already shown. This film will make you feel like a hypocrite and it completely reinforces the film's message. Beyond the superficial topic of hunting, this film is ultimately a cautionary tale for what can happen if people make uninformed opinions, and it certainly has the power to move people in that direction. It's incredibly entertaining watching a sprawling web of moral ambiguities unfold, even if it gets so dense that even the filmmakers seem incapable of navigating it. The film certainly asks a lot of questions and asks them in an exceptionally articulate way, but the film can't seem to offer anything resembling a definitive answer.

Hands down, one of the best openings of any documentary I have ever seen! I won't spoil it for you, experience it yourself. No matter how you feel about hunting, this movie drags you in from the first second on and will not let your eyes allow to blink just once.

Before seeing that movie, I was disgusted by people, who kill animals for fun. I was asking myself why do they do it, why do people let them do it and so on. I must admit, this is only half of the story. My opinion on hunters is still the same, so this doc didn't changed my view on hunters, but on hunting, especially the "big ones" that you can find in the press so often.

This movie is not an easy one to watch, especially if you love animals, but believe me, its totally worth it! You will meet people with different views and stories and will follow their life for a good bit, trying to understand their motivations and getting a deeper look into the hunting industry. Ideally you can walk away from this movie with more knowledge and you will understand the dilemmas that this industry causes.

For me it was one of the best documentaries I have seen in a while and even if this doesn't look appealing to you from the trailer on, give the movie 10mins and you will be soaked in by the information, stories and cinematography.

Big game hunting will go the way of smoking. Hopefully any form of hunting where a rifle is used 'to give an animal a fighting chance', will also stop. As a sport it's time has passed. This documentary is good in that it allows for the differing points of view to be expressed. I am a Christian and I understand when the hunter, who shoots the elephant and the lion at the end, quotes the reference to the Bible that states man has dominion over the animals ... but screw such Christians ... I'm glad I get sick and tired of listening to this statement in reference to a blood sport ... that screwball is crying at the end as he crouches by the lion he has just killed; psychopathic tendencies requiring emotional release through killing a living creature ... dominion over animals in this situation is a lie and shameful that he believes it. I'm an Aussie so I watch with some interest the fat, emotionally backward hunting fraternity foam at the mouth about their next kill ... most of the portrayals are about American hunters ... what's wrong with them and their love of guns, killing animals that are innocently grazing? They are ugly. In Australia we do just fine with a highly restrictive access to gun culture. In Yankeedoodledandy land they have the 2nd Amendment which inevitably is quoted endlessly as a right ... just straight out psychopathy. During the production the hunter lamely accuses the protesters against said blood sport of eating chickens that someone else has slaughtered for them ... of course this is going to be quoted. It always is. However it doesn't change anything about the unfolding attitude towards killing wild animals for sport and trophies. What's wrong with the mentality of people who love weapons, love killing and generally can't find any other way to express themselves? Is this the 18th Century? I can't help hate these hunters which leads me to hating all countries that engage in weapon worship and justify it with 'rights' and self defense manifestations and possibilities. It's disgraceful. The one thing I really liked is the tough guy with tattoos who was visibly unhappy with the dentist who shot Cecil the lion. Someone like him is going to attitude assist these dumb hunters, who stupidly allowed themselves to a part of this documentary and make themselves known ... how careless!

I watched this documentary in Amsterdam documentary festival. It is certainly very hard to watch and the director(s) have made a good job shooting this film.

In our case they were present on the screening and in the short discussion that followed they confirmed my view that they approached hunting and conservation almost exclusively from a financial point of view. Also the co-direct (who is American) mentioned in the discussion that there must be a financial intensive to preserve wildlife. This might be true when the human habitat extends to the animal one but the conservation discussion should not be based on financials but on the greater cause of animal survival. There was certainly no such intensive for thousands of years and i wonder why it should be now. There is absolutely no justification on killing an animal to make a selfie with it.

For reasons not entirely clear, they failed to mention in the film the ban of all hunting in Botswana since 2014. A close view to what is happening in that country might give some answers to the good questions posed in this documentary.

Having said that, it is a must see. I was even convinced (to a certain degree) of Mr. Huume's initiative.