David Allen’s Wilding documentary is a fairytale of biodiversity which charts an ambitious 3,500-acre rewilding project at Knepp Castle and Estate in Surrey. Packed with enchanting wildlife footage, irritating recreations and engaging narration, this is a flawed but winning story of gumption, privilege, hope and woo.

Sir Charles Burrell (Charlie) and Lady Burrell – Isabella Tree, author of Wilding, the best-selling book and source material for this film – moved to the 400-year-old arable and livestock farming estate Knepp when Charlie inherited its custodianship. Despite the idyllic first impression of the surrounding countryside, manmade interventions and a century under the plough had devastated the land and native wildlife. Under the guidance of eccentric academic and arboriculturist Ted Green, the couple learned to see things differently, to understand the dynamic ecosystem dancing from the ground beneath their feet to the oak trees soaring over their heads and to honour it.

After a...