King of Beasts

While the world amuses itself with cat videos on Facebook, Aaron has to fight off an angry mob that sees him as evil incarnate. When he reads an angry email calling him the scum of humanity, he is simply stunned. Sincerely stating his motives brings him close to tears. Aaron is an upstanding American citizen, somebody who believes in the values of the land of the free. He is a trophy hunter who acts out the dream of the archaic fight between man and beast in the wilderness of Tanzania. Tomer Almagor and Nadav Harel were allowed to accompany this man on an expedition to Africa, not an easy feat. Their portrait of this fully neocolonial enterprise is a brilliant cinematic mixture of Wes Anderson and Apocalypse Now, suggestive and visually overwhelming. After a few minutes we forget that we are watching a documentary. We experience breathlessly suspenseful hunting scenes, bizarre evenings at the campsite and are flabbergasted at the sight of white colonial masters being celebrated and loved by the black population. At the end we will find out who the real King of Beasts might be. And the world will not be the same after watching this film. If it’s going to be a better one is up to us. (Internationales Filmfest Oldenburg)