October 1, 1999
Movie Review
By Jennifer Ackles
Few of us will ever encounter an elephant in the wild and after viewing the breathtaking IMAX film Africa's Elephant Kingdom, now playing at the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park, I am very grateful for that. I am equally grateful to the makers of this film for its unforgettably up-close view of an enraged matriarch in full charge, baby elephants wrestling playfully, a pachyderm family mourning their calf's death and so much more.
The savannas, swamps, rivers, and rainstorms of Kenya are the breathtaking background for this first feature from Discovery Channel Pictures, a perfect setting and subject for the big—really, really big—screen format of the IMAX theatre. But the heart of the film is neither the sweeping vistas nor the overwhelming size of the animals, both showcased to striking effect. Instead, we are invited into a single elephant family's tender bonding and communal struggle to survive.
An aging bull elephant narrates this story of his clan. Led by matriarch Torn Ear, the group of women and children includes a spunky baby boy and a new-born girl struggling to take her first steps. The narrator and all other adult males live primarily on their own but visit their families regularly, especially during mating season. Over the six months captured by this film, the clan grazes peacefully across the marshes and plains, playfully bathes in water and mud, and enjoys communal life.
The matriarch guides her clan in every way—meeting their daily need for food and water, directing their every step, and leading the charge against the camera crew in the film's most hair-raising moment.
She faces her biggest challenge when drought takes over the land. Though Torn Ear leads the family far and wide in search of food and water, the weakest animals cannot outlast the famine. The film captures the grief of a mother elephant whose calf did not survive for the rains that finally came and the sympathy provided by other elephants near to her.
The film relies heavily on personification of the elephants, helping children identify with the drama of the animals' lives. The same tactic, though, may leave adults wondering if elephants really have such readable "feelings". Still, only the hardest heart could deny the charm of the baby elephants and the sadness of one calf's premature death.
A dramatic and touching adventure, Africa's Elephant Kingdom accomplishes the vision of its scientific consultant, Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who gave an excellent introduction at the film's premiere. As the elephants allow us into the heart of their lives, Douglas-Hamilton hopes we will take them into our hearts as well and act to protect their habitat and preserve their way of life.
Douglas-Hamilton is one of the few who have encountered, befriended, and chosen to understand elephants in the wild. He, and this entertaining film, deserve our strongest support. And our great gratitude that he and his crew outran that charging elephant!
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