...I know, movies aren't required to have a happy ending, but I say, why not? Just my opinion, but in a fictional piece like this, dealing with serious themes like war, genocide, and man's seemingly inexhaustible capacity to be cruel, would it have been so bad if the three key players got to stay together, and be allowed to see how much healing they could salvage through their nascent love for each other? It especially seemed needless to me that the boy's mother was killed at the end...man, if anyone deserved a happy ending, it was her, and by taking her out of the equation, I seriously doubt her son will ever get close to being emotionally whole again. Well, as I say, that's not the way I would have had the film end, but I respect other's right to prefer it just as it is. Last thought: I believe that inherent in mankind's soul is a desire for perfection, whether in art or in life, and since that is a desire normally frustrated to varying degrees in life, I for one appreciate films, books, etc., that allow us brief chances to glimpse the world as it should be, as it might be, and hopefully one day, as it will be. So this goes into the "glad I saw it once, but I'm not putting myself through that again" category of movies, and while I didn't like the ending, it is unquestionably a well made film, and everyone in it did very well. Peace! MFF/Hawaii 9-10-21.
Review of The Zookeeper
