‘Checkpoint Zoo’: New documentary retraces the evacuation of zoo animals from the Russia-Ukraine War.
'Checkpoint Zoo', a heartstring-tugging documentary retraces the evacuation of thousands of animals at the risk of shelling and other attacks. It portrays a caged and dependent menagerie of animals that bewilderingly experienced humans at their worst and, fortunately, their best.
NICOLAS RAPOLD: “Checkpoint Zoo” spotlights a (mostly) four-legged group that has also been affected by the Russia-Ukraine war: animals at Feldman Ecopark, an outdoor zoo located near the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Joshua Zeman’s heartstring-tugging documentary retraces the evacuation of thousands of beasts at the risk of shelling and other attacks.
Workers and volunteers first tried to feed the animals on visits to the zoo. But weeks of war and winter necessitated the gradual removal of the hungry, traumatized population to other zoos and safe havens. These death-defying rescues are the movie’s reason for existing; clips have gone viral. (New interviews and visits are combined with 120 hours of footage from media organizations, Feldman Ecopark and other sources.)…
The movie has a serial, emotion-milking quality — serving up the amazing, cute, and tear-jerking — like a TV news story spun out to feature length. One remains grateful that ostriches, kangaroos, bears, and apes were saved, avoiding the dire fate of other wartime zoo residents. “Checkpoint Zoo” portrays a caged and dependent menagerie that bewilderingly experienced humans at their worst and, fortunately, their best. SOURCE…
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