I think this is the most beautiful movie ever made. But not in the normal sense of beauty. I think the way the story is told is beautiful. I think doing it from 3 perspectives that end up all crossing paths is beautiful. I think it shining a light so well on such a devastating global problem, not one, not two, like four of them, is beautiful. It is such a gut wrenching, heart breaking, devastating movie. That for me, every time, makes me cry a bunch, and sends me deep in to thought and feelings. And to me, that level of POWER, is beautiful for a film.
Be ready for this movie. As mentioned it is devastating. The story follows 3 story arcs. One involving a young boy (adu) and his journey from Africa to any sort of freedom, as he is pushed out of his home country and sees his parents murdered by a group of vigilantes that have clearly over thrown the government and are ruthless. This all too real occurrence in many countries, is the main story arc.
The second story arc follows a man who is also stationed in the same country, his job is to try and protect the local elephants from poachers. Again, this all too real story, shows the difficulty of protecting these endangered animals, especially in a country that does not care. He is also battling to build a relationship with a daughter who is lashing out.
The third arc follows a border patrol agent. In Spain. We can assume the country in Africa the first 2 are in, are Northern Africa. Northern Africans and Southern looking to flee their war torn countries and seek refuge often risk their lives to cross the dangerous waters into Europe any way possible. It is ugly and it is horribly sad. We see it from a perspective of one of the agents trying to keep these individuals out of Spain.
All 3 arcs end up colliding with each other and are connected to each other. All 3 touch on the humanitarian crisis the world is facing, the impossible situation to solve it is, the poaching problem, the family issues problems we all face, social issues we struggle with and just how heart breaking all can be. I watch this movie to remind my self, the world is hard for so many people. I watch it to humble my self. I watch it to deeply feed my empathy towards others. To sympathize with others. These are the movies that are necessary for people to watch to move the needle in their hearts, from selfish and close minded to empathic and open minded. This is a life changing movie in my opinion.
This movie touches on so many issues, and has some absolutely gut wrenching scenes, but it does it in a beautiful way. It changed the way I think and view the world. This is 100% an OUTSTANDING MASTERPIECE. Not sure ill give a higher score than this one ever.