The Zookeeper

Featuring one of Sam Neill's finest performances, this is an incredibly moving war drama about the human tragedy that is military oppression. Set in a zoo in the Balkans during a bombing siege, the film is gritty and realistic as well as poetically allegorical, showing the effects of war on both man and beast.

When a young boy and his mother come seeking shelter from the fascist paramilitaries rounding up all those who are not "patriots" (featuring a fantastic supporting performance by Ulrik Thomsen as their leader), Sam Neill's Zookeeper finds himself forced to come to terms with the mess he's made of his own life.

Why has this film not been widely distributed? Anyone who liked The Piano will love this! The audience is waiting!

Intriguing, well made, movie with pretty incredible animal footage. However, two things would have made it much better. One, more details on the background of the Sam Neil character. What made him the way he was? What in his background made him so private and initially unfriendly? Not well developed.

Also, the decision on how the movie ended with an unexpected loss was very perplexing. Didn't make sense or explained how it happened. No one was around! The direction the movie makers decided to go was a poor one.

Last year (2016) I happened to see Sam Neill in 3 different vehicles, and he was awesome in all: Peaky Blinders, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and The Zookeeper. I would be hard-pressed to say which I liked better, or which he was better in. Suffice to say, his stature as an actor took a quantum leap in my estimation. I highly recommend all three, although Peaky Blinders is quite violent, and also an ongoing mini-series with the attendant time commitment (Come on, Season Four!!) The Zookeeper is heartbreaking, and I wept for humans and animals alike.

Screenplay writer Matthew Bishop and co-writer/director Ralph Ziman's independently produced 'The Zookeeper' is unfairly, mostly unknown. It features above-average production values and an unusual but interesting performance by Sam Neil. Neil plays an ex-communist party member who has denounced the party and hidden himself away as an attendant in an unspecified Eastern European Zoo. Filmed on location in the Czech Republic, it tells a story that will have all too often unfolded within many war-torn European communities - where communist troops arrive and exert their control.

The emotionally challenged Zookeeper tends his animal charges alone - while attempting to remain neutral of the war raging around his unique boundaries. This won't be easy as there are others also wanting to escape the outside trauma - these come in the form of a young boy and one of his parents. The internationally sourced budget includes many well-executed scenes involving explosions and it's all expertly captured on film by prize-winning Polish cinematographer Piotr Kuklar.

There's also an effective music score by Nikolaj Egelund, supplying a haunting soundscape within the eerie shut-down zoological grounds. Popular American wildlife trainer Steve Martin (Water For Elephants '11) acted as head trainer for all the zoo animals. Acclaimed Indian actor Om Puri (Ghost and the Darkness) also appears as the vet.

The Beyond DVD offers good image and sound - this is a film deserving of better public recognition.

This follows Ludovic, a former Communist who tries to protect the animals in a zoo in Eastern Europe, in a time of conflict, until the U.N. forces arrive. He tries to ignore the proximity and behavior of an armed group of nationalists, until he is confronted by a young boy. This has three excellent actors, all from different countries, Neill, Ulrich and Puri. Every performance is magnificent. Granted, English is the only language spoken, and accents aren't necessarily spot-on, but that can be forgiven. This is very strong, suspenseful and exciting, and I was caught completely off-guard several places. It captures the chaos and uncertainty of the situation absolutely perfectly. Quite dramatic. The writing is good, and it develops rather smoothly. Pacing is fitting. Cinematography and editing are great. The DVD has two featurettes, a regular making-of, and one that deals with an actual keeper, in Sarajevo, whose interview is translated vocally into American. Both are well-done and worth the time. This has relatively infrequent moderate to harsh cussing, as well as violence and disturbing content. I recommend this to anyone who watches films about the way war affects the civilians. 8/10