‘Tigerland’ Review: Harrowing and Essential Doc Follows Tigers and Those Fighting For Their Survival
You’ll have to wait a while before “Tigerland” introduces its eponymous stars, but like many elements of Ross Kauffman’s emotional, often harrowing new documentary, the eventual reveal will be worth it. The “E-Team” and “Born Into Brothels” filmmaker has always been concerned with shining a light on those in need of help (or common decency), and for his third feature, Kauffman turns his interest toward a threatened animal population and the humans trying to save them. While “Tigerland” takes some time to find its footing, kicking off with an odd kid-voiced monologue that attempts to spell out the historical meaning of the tiger and then looping together two seemingly different stories, Kauffman eventually finds connections that go far beyond the superficial.
Still, it’s the tigers that bind everything, and when Kauffman finally reveals one out in the wild — after plenty of gazing at dusty paw prints, squinting through brush,...
Still, it’s the tigers that bind everything, and when Kauffman finally reveals one out in the wild — after plenty of gazing at dusty paw prints, squinting through brush,...
- 3/21/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
A century ago, 100,000 tigers existed in the wild; now just about 4% remain. The threat of extinction of the species — one that historically has fascinated mankind — is always present in “Tigerland,” which finds “Born into Brothels” director Ross Kauffman looking at preservation efforts in Russia and India, two of the big cats’ primary remaining territories. This Discovery Channel documentary is higher on entertainment than educational value, but should please viewers when it premieres on the network March 30.
Apart from the tawny mammals themselves, the principal subjects are two leading conservationists: The affable Pavel Fomenko who, for a decade, has largely dedicated his life to the preservation of nature’s most “beautiful killing machine”; and Kailash Sankhala, who died in 1994 at age 69 after pioneering concepts of preservation and protection in India, often against stiff opposition.
Plentiful archival materials show what Sankhala was up against: In British Raj culture, bagging a tiger — or...
Apart from the tawny mammals themselves, the principal subjects are two leading conservationists: The affable Pavel Fomenko who, for a decade, has largely dedicated his life to the preservation of nature’s most “beautiful killing machine”; and Kailash Sankhala, who died in 1994 at age 69 after pioneering concepts of preservation and protection in India, often against stiff opposition.
Plentiful archival materials show what Sankhala was up against: In British Raj culture, bagging a tiger — or...
- 2/13/2019
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
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