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Hathi [imdb] [viff] Dir: Philippe Gautier Country: Canada

I'm surprised this film managed to get made at all.

It's got some absolutely stunning shots of elephants doing elephant things. These are very very well-trained elephants, and very very patient director and camerapeople. Wow.

The film itself is beautifully understated. It's a simple story about a boy who grows up to be an elephant shepherd like his father was. He bonds with one particular elephant, which is then sold... I know, it sounds like a bad Disney movie. Not so! The relationship between the man and the elephant is, like the rest of the movie, brialliantly understated and very tastefully done.

There is very little need for subtitles here- the elephants talk more than the humans do.