Quartile rating: 7/10 · 3 ratings
Bomman and Bellie, a couple in south India, devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu, forging a family like no other.
This Oscar-winning short documentary is carried largely by its stunning cinematography — the lush landscapes of Tamil Nadu and intimate close-ups of Raghu with his human family are visually exceptional. The story of Bomman and Bellie's bond with the orphaned elephant is warm and emotionally resonant, though the narrative arc is relatively simple and straightforward. The subject matter is distinctive but not wholly unprecedented in nature documentary filmmaking. The ending is tender and satisfying without being particularly surprising. Acting is not a meaningful category here given the documentary format, so it earns a mid-range score for the naturalistic, unaffected presence of its real subjects.