Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Through interviews and recreation, Zoo tells the story of "zoos," or men who "love" animals, through a group of men involved in the fatal incident involving man-horse love.
Zoo is a deeply unusual documentary that approaches its taboo subject—zoophilia and the infamous 2005 Enumclaw horse-sex case—with an unexpectedly lyrical, impressionistic visual style directed by Robinson Devor. Rather than exploitative expose, it uses poetic recreations, hushed voiceover, and dreamlike cinematography (courtesy of Sean Kirby) that is genuinely striking and well above average for documentary filmmaking. The subject matter is singular almost by definition, making it one of the most distinctive American documentaries of the 2000s. The 'acting' in the recreations is serviceable but not the point. The narrative structure is somewhat meandering and the ending, while contemplative, doesn't fully cohere into a satisfying resolution.