The Zookeeper

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.

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.

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!

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.