The Zookeeper

Sam Neil is having to carry a dull movie taking place during some war featuring 1970's vintage German car frames and burnt out parts. He plays a zookeeper trying to save face and manage a zoo during a nameless war when a boy and his flatsie plywood edition mom show up asking for free cover.He obliges them of course to make the film work. They crash his zoo pad and ruin his bachelor lifestyle. What they don't know is that the zoo lair has secret passages full of baby animals of all types and descriptions. Wow! Sam Neil can play zookeeper. However the film falls flat as a love story. It also misses the mark as a nondescript war story. The mom is also a flatsie and could be in plywood sales.There is a lot to unpack at the end when old mom gets unceremoniously shot for being too flat and killed by the evil war lords. It's sad, evil and the END!!!

This is another one of those obscure, brilliant movies and great performances, that nobody has ever heard of. Set in war torn eastern Europe in the troubles of the 80's, it is a story of a zoo keeper (Sam Niell )whose deep love for the animals locked up in a zoo, who are in mortal danger from stray bombs, mortars, hungry soldiers, etc, make him stay behind and fend for the animals as best he can. He is alone in his endeavours, until a young boy, followed by his mother dressed as a man (for obvious reasons in war time) seek refuge in "his" zoo. At first aggressive, he softens to their presence, and gets the boy involved with the animals, while the woman sets up house in the zookeepers tiny hut. To tell the rest of the story would spoil it, but there is no fairy-tale ending. An excellent, virtually solo performance by Niell, this is a very well made film, with a good story line and a very plausible plot. Something different in a story line and well worth the money.

Incredibly sad, realistic depiction of war. Great performance. Brutal for animal lovers. Wonderful acting by 3 main characters. Not at all like The Zookeepers Wife which was much more Hollywood for the masses. Both very good but not comparable.Get out the tissues.

I like Sam Neill but, this movie is a relentless downer. I don't like movies that put innocent animals at risk or worse kill them for a cheap dramatic effect. I also don't need a movie to teach me that war is bad and people are horrible. There is nothing profound or meaningful in stating the obvious. I watch cinema to try and escape, if only briefly, this horrid existence not revel or wallow in it.

This movie was well-acted, and most likely historically accurate, but be warned - it is kind of depressing. Set in a zoo in the Balkans, during a time of civil war between 3 different factions, Sam Neill volunteers to stay behind and be the caretaker of the animals at a zoo, after everyone else has been evacuated. Not a ‘warm-fuzzy’ type of movie, it reminds me of a quote from a Swedish movie about an imminent start to WWIII: “War teaches us nothing!"

This film is so upsetting. If one treasures animals, the film is hard to watch. It's best to get drunk. You'll cry for two hours straight. How human beings can be so hurtful to each other and to other creatures--it's too much too absorb.

Very intersting and emotional movie. Sam Neil should have been given an award for this movie. it has a history with a moral lesson, we all need to learn.

It was loosely based on a true story. However, it was well written and well acted. Almost 5 Stars.

This was a wonderful DVD! Thank you very much. Once I bought the same DVD from Amazon.com, but it was a fake DVD dizitalized from video imported from Mexico. So I must re-bought it from you, and it was a success!

Purchased this movie on spec. Quality movie - hard subject. A very hard reality but the story had some brightness to it. Horrified at brutality of war and watching humans being inhumane, I still see this movie as thought-provoking and well-acted, believable story. War is horrific even if one is a bystander. DVD arrived in time promised and in excellent condition.