Checkpoint Zoo

This documentary would make a fabulous Hollywood movie. That said, we don't need it because we have this wonderful film already. This is the story of the 2022 Russian invasion into Ukraine as it pertains to the city of Kharkiv and the Feldman Ecopark Zoo, which lies just outside. When Russia invaded, the zoo was caught between the two warring front lines, a no man's land. The zoo was abandoned and the 5000 animals were left to starve to death. This is the story of how a small group of zoo workers and a handful of volunteers went about feeding and looking after these animals while under constant shelling, and how they tried to rescue as many animals as they could. This isn't just an animal story, it's a story of human compassion in a time when certain humans were behaving at their worst. It's a story of courage and compassion and if you cried during Hamnet, you might want to bring along a tissue. The zoo's owner, Oleksandr Feldman, is a character (like if Danny DeVito was in Uncut Gems) but a compassionate one who would do anything to save his animals. The film doesn't go into the morality of having zoos in the first place, but that's not what the film is about. With the war still raging on and the world feeling like it's in a spiraling, depressive state, Checkpoint Zoo feels like the uplifting monkey business we could use right now. Catch it at the Mayfair or Bytowne or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff, if and when possible.