Wildcat
Melissa Lesh, Trevor Beck Frost / US, 2022 / 105 min.
After serving in Afghanistan, the young British soldier Harry Turner struggles with PTSD. This drives him deep into the South American rainforest, where he takes on the care of an orphaned ocelot—which above all becomes an exercise in letting go.
The British soldier Harry Turner was 18 when he was deployed to Afghanistan. He returned from the war a broken man. Struggling with PTSD, depression and suicidal thoughts, he travels deep into the Peruvian rainforest, where he meets the US scientist Samantha. Together, they take care of an orphaned ocelot, a small spotted wildcat.
The film consists partly of material that Harry and Samantha filmed themselves and partly of footage by the directors of Wildcat, who later joined the pair. Intimate moments between humans and animals are combined with exciting shots of the treacherous nocturnal jungle to form an emotionally tortuous portrait of a person constantly battling his demons. It is out of this struggle that Harry forges a bond with the young wild animal.
His attempt to save the ocelot is above all an attempt to save himself. And making the animal self-reliant proves in fact to be an exercise in letting go. As he guides the animal in the jungle, Harry must also find his way back to society and to his family.
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Details
Director
Melissa Lesh, Trevor Beck Frost
Production year
2022
Country
US
Length
105 min.
Format
DCP
Part of
IDFA 2022
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