- Date of Release: 07 June 2024
- Genre: Documentary, War
- Language: English/Russian
- Watch On: Tribeca Film Festival
Checkpoint Zoo
Introduction
Not all animals are animals all the time, not all humans are humans all the time ; But some animals are humans and most humans are animals! It was at the start of this year that I had watched one of the most heartwrenching documentaries of recent times in the form of 20 Days In Mariupol which was the first hand account of life in worn torn Ukraine against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war of 2022. That documentary was so mind numbing, that I remember being quiet the whole day since I finished watching it. With the onset of the Tribeca Film Festival, I did get another opportunity to watch another documentary set in the same timelines titled Checkpoint Zoo. The only difference being that this document does revolve around the rescue and shelter of animals in the war torn region of Ukraine, specifically in an area overlooking the Russian border. And I have come to a consensus that not all superheroes wear capes, most are disguised as you and me, who bring out their superhero abilities by serving mankind and animals. So then does Checkpoint Zoo manage to impress, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
Set in 2022 in a region on the Russia-Ukraine border, Checkpoint Zoo follows the account of a bunch of local superheroes of Ukraine who have a task of saving close to 5000 animals and species against the backdrop of war that has begun. This documentary accounts for one of the most heartfelt and pure accounts of rescuing creatures that are mute and can’t tell the world what they are going through. And this makes for such an emotional watch given the amount of efforts and sacrifices that the group makes by literally going out of the way to rescue the animals trapped under the garb of shelling that ensues following the war.
The drama takes its time to set some context with respect to the key characters, some of whom were local employees working at a zoo whilst the others were volunteers featuring animal loving people. And to imagine the magnanimity of the situation in trying to find a shelter place for animals, when there weren’t too many for humans did make for a rather heartwrenching watch, even as animals quietly awaited their fate. But it eventually was a story of resilience in turning up each day against all odds, even while losing some of their own people, and trying to save creatures who often looked on with a gaze that was enough to haunt you for days. The plight of the animals while trying to adapt to the ‘indifferent’ conditions of war was so well captured that literally my heart went out for them. What was their fault in all of it? – the fact that that they had to rely on some angels as humanity was trying to restore itself amidst the presence of demons.
The Images
There is a saying that images speak a thousand words! And that did hold true for this documentary at so many instances. Now picture this – an unwavering stare of a lion with eyes as wide as you could ever imagine, as it pierced through your soul accounting for an image that was haunting to the core. In a separate instance, the image of a donkey having died by the shelling was taken accompanied by his friends(other donkeys) surrounding him and grieving, was enough to leave you numb with a lot of tears in your eyes. There was another haunting image featuring a sort of a sty which was laced with the screaming (and literally screaming) sounds of pigs which seemed to be calling out for help. These instances were enough to make me shed buckets of tears during the course of this documentary. Yet, in a reverse set of images, you see a monkey literally holding a human baby and offering it milk from a bottle. Ahh the irony!
My Take
As I am currently penning this review, there are two ongoing wars taking place across the globe, one between Ukraine and Russia, and the other between Israel and Gaza(Palestine). This while there are innumerous civil wars transpiring across the globe. And watching this documentary made me realise on what adverse effects there can be on mankind, as well as the animals which are less talked about. And while geo-politics is a tricky subject, it often stems out of a state of power and the will to exercise control, often by meek men who are spineless and pretty much cowards. Yes, war is wrong and if anyone were to tell you otherwise, do not believe them!
Yet, what this document did was provide a sense of hope to humanity. There still are humans who wish to put love above every iota of hate that is stemming from this world. And they do shower that love onto animals, who are perhaps the most pure form of human life on this planet. Get this straight – an animal will never attack you unless it is either threatened or hungry. It doesn’t have a mind of its own to think and take decisions, often relying only on its instincts stemming from its subsconcious mind. This is opposite to any human who can think rationally and very well knows the implications of war and loss, yet continues to go ahead with it for some selfish needs and motives. So even as there are so many lives lost, just a thought of positivity to help curb every ounce of negativity of this planet. Glad that ‘some humans are still humans’ while going out of the way to help humanity prosper.
I shall leave this here but before that a quiet little thank you to the millions of helpers including journalists and volunteers at the zoo who did strife to paint the picture of reality. And amidst all this, I am grateful for the life that I am living and for food on my table(touchwood), have never felt more thankful as I have tears in my eyes while typing this.
Conclusion
As a part of our Tribeca Film Festival coverage, Checkpoint Zoo is a gut-wrenching account of animal rescue and shelter in war torn Ukraine by a bunch of unsung heroes that don’t wear capes! There are reviews that you are easily detached to while writing, and then there are reviews that originate out of every drop of tear that was spent while watching the content. And Checkpoint Zoo falls in the latter category. Highly Highly Recommended!
