A River Below

Honored at many of the World's best festivals, ARB should have been nominated for an Oscar. Fascinating, intelligent, beautiful doc shot subject to what appear to be unimaginable logistics and danger. A probing drama offering unique access to largely unknown struggles to save Amazon river dolphins and an unexpected confrontation of corruption related to the Amazon and conservation in general. Add an investigation of Machiavellian manipulation of images in media and the film provides a magic brew of story elements. The "anti-hero" is an unforgettable character. A real tour de force. Excellent.

I watched this on Netflix, thinking I was just going to watch a movie about some good people fighting some bad people in order to save dolphins. Instead I got a deeply personal look inside politics, media, and the ethics of conservationism in the Amazon. There are no heroes or villains, just human beings, living side by side with nature, and trying to protect what matters most to them. Very interesting watch.