What does desperation do to people? That鈥檚 the question at the heart of , a documentary set听in Kenya听amid听a crackdown on poaching. The effort听reached a dramatic apex in 2016, when the government symbolically burned 105 tons of ivory to signal a zero-tolerance stance.
The film,听which was has been across the U.S. this winter, follows three men with different relationships to the deadly trade as they struggle to survive in a tightening market. Lukas鈥檚 family has hunted elephants for generations;听using听traditional knowledge, he finds his livelihood challenged by听stiff competition and stricter regulations. X, an ivory trader whose poacher dad was killed by rangers, hopes to build a more stable life for his son. And Asan, a wildlife ranger, hasn鈥檛 been paid for his government work in months; his wife is pregnant, and he鈥檚 becoming frantic with anxiety. X and Lukas hunt the endangered elephants that Asan (a former poacher himself) is trying to protect.
These听three men form听the backbone of the film听and the audience鈥檚听window into the seldom-seen听action that surrounds big-game poaching. When Lambs Become Lions听reveals vivid personal histories and stakes on both sides of the trade. So much of the film鈥檚听power comes from听the main characters鈥听vulnerability, as they reckon daily with life-and-death choices regarding poaching, survival, and providing for their families. Sometimes Lukas, X, and Asan seem like tough guys, stone-faced and violent. Other times听they look like frightened kids, unsure and guessing.
Director Jon Kasbe听followed听Lukas, X, and Asan听for three years. The film owes its success to this feat of extended access, which helps viewers understand what drives people to hunt beautiful, prized animals in the first place. When Lambs Become Lions听reveals itself to be a devastating story not only because elephants die in it, graphically and violently, but also because it captures how HIV/AIDS, government overreach, and domestic abuse all听trickle down through听generations.
The film鈥檚 cinematography beautifully immerses us in the world of the protagonists鈥攆rom wide shots of the open savannah,听to action听scenes of Asan chasing poachers in a park,听to tight, close-up city shots of X and Lukas making their way to a club and听listening to Biggie. We鈥檙e right there for听elephant hunts听and government holdups. But we also see more quietly revealing moments: X sits with Asan鈥檚 wife as she goes into labor; Lukas finds frogs whose toxins are used to听poison his arrows, so the elephants will die silently. 鈥淏etter to kill the poacher and spare the elephant,鈥 Asan says at one point, flipping through digital pictures of carcasses he鈥檚 found in the bush.
To call When Lambs Become Lions听a documentary about elephant poaching hardly captures the story. The film becomes far more complicated than who survives, elephants or people. It's less about how poaching is carried out than why.