The Zookeeper

The film is beautiful, moving and sensitive with a subtlety not often displayed these days. Moving performances from Sam Neill, Gina McKee and Javor Loznica. This film has a resonance that stays with you for days. Perhaps it's the images of caged animals terrified by falling bombs, or perhaps it's Sam Neill's haunting performance. He plays a man at war with himself within the confines of a zoo.

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.

Sam Neill's "The Zookeeper" follows the story of one man who's life is thrown into chaos as a brutal civil war overtakes his zoo. Gina McKee is excellent as a woman struggling to make sense of her changing world. A tender love story in the most unlikely surroundings. I cried a lot.

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

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!