- Title: Wildcat
- IMDb: link
More than just a nature documentary, Wildcat from directors Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh is a study of human frailty and the lure and power of nature to heal. And don’t worry, if you are looking for a nature documentary deep in the jungles of the Amazon it’s got you covered there as well.
Our main subject of the documentary turns out not to be the young ocelot but a former British soldier suffering from depression and PTSD who comes to the isolated reserve in the Peruvian Amazon joining their efforts in protecting the forest and its native species from dangers of the modern world. Harry works with two different baby ocelots in the film. After the tragedy of the first almost breaks him, he is given a second chance with Keanu who he hopes to eventually release back into the wild.
While Harry and Keanu are front and center in terms of framing the story, so too is Hoja Nueva founder Samantha Zwicker who goes through her own range of emotion while supporting the struggle to attempt what no one else had done before, successfully release a carnivore such as Keanu back into the wild. The movie doesn’t go into details, but it’s obvious the pair’s relationship has gone far beyond just professional and as the weight of Keanu’s rehab starts to weigh on Harry we see how that effects Samantha as well threatening other aspects of what she has built.
Wildcat offers more than expected in how much it shows from the human side of working with the ocelots and the wider scope of Hoja Nueva as well. Harry’s journey with Khan and then Keanu will draw you in. It’s a story where the odds are so stacked against success of those who leave their souls bared for the film, it becomes impossible not to root everyone involved and find hope that nature, and the healing that time, may provide.
Watch the trailer