Wildcat

Name: Wildcat
Genre: Documentary
Released: December 21, 2022
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 71

2022

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Amazon Studios | Release Date: December 21, 2022 | R

Movie Facts:

Streams on Amazon Prime Video beginning December 30, 2022.

Summary: Wildcat follows the emotional and inspiring story of a young veteran (Harry Turner) on his journey into the Amazon. Once there, he meets a young woman (Samantha Zwicker) running a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center, and his life finds new meaning as he is entrusted with the life of an orphaned baby ocelot. What was meant to be anWildcat follows the emotional and inspiring story of a young veteran (Harry Turner) on his journey into the Amazon. Once there, he meets a young woman (Samantha Zwicker) running a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center, and his life finds new meaning as he is entrusted with the life of an orphaned baby ocelot. What was meant to be an attempt to escape from life turns out to be an unexpected journey of love, discovery, and healing.… Expand

Director: Melissa Lesh and Trevor Frost

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: R

Runtime: 105 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Mick LaSalle

Jan 2, 2023

Though specific to the stories of its central characters, this documentary is as complicated as life. It’s happy, sad and uncertain — genuinely moving and uplifting, yet never reassuring. Read full review

Luke Y. Thompson

Dec 22, 2022

Wildcat may have a tiny fraction of Avatar’s budget, and the bad guys—loggers, mostly—remain off-camera. But at heart, it has the same appeal. Get back to nature, put others first, be as good to your family as you can, but let them go their own way. Read full review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Dec 21, 2022

On its exotic surface, Wildcat might hold all the trappings of a standard wildlife conservation documentary, but lurking beneath the lushly photographed camouflage is a tenderly moving, deeply empathetic human survival story that has as much to do with emotional trauma as it does with the physical. Read full review

Fran Hoepfner

Dec 20, 2022

At times Wildcat is a difficult watch, raw and unflinching. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Katie Rife

Dec 21, 2022

While the points where Wildcat goes beyond simply being a feel-good nature documentary and delves into Harry’s mental health struggles are honest, they raise more questions than they answer. Read full review

Kristen Page-Kirby

Dec 19, 2022

For fans of wildlife documentaries, Wildcat is at least as good as, say, a rerun of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” (Google it). That is to say: It’s enjoyable while it lasts but fades from the mind soon after, all except for that little piece of a viewer’s heart that holds out hope that little Keanu — and the people who raised him — will one day find the lives they deserve. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

Dec 29, 2022

In shaping this narrative, though, Lesh and Frost have left out details that would have deepened and broadened Wildcat. Read full review

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User Reviews

Brent_Marchant

Jan 18, 2023

When one is spiraling downward and hopes for the future look dim, it may seem that there’s no coming back from one’s troubles. So it was for Harry Turner, a British soldier who was traumatized by his combat experience in Afghanistan, leaving him with severe cases of depression and PTSD thatWhen one is spiraling downward and hopes for the future look dim, it may seem that there’s no coming back from one’s troubles. So it was for Harry Turner, a British soldier who was traumatized by his combat experience in Afghanistan, leaving him with severe cases of depression and PTSD that nearly drove him to suicide. He felt that life was no longer worth living, so he packed up his belongings and headed to the Peruvian rainforest, hoping to lose himself there. However, once in the wilderness, he was taken with the beauty of his new environment, landing a job rescuing orphaned wildlife with conservationist/scientist Samantha Zwicker, who eventually became his partner. Harry became particularly passionate about a program to prepare abandoned ocelots for return to the wild, a project that gave him a purpose and a new reason for living. However, despite the satisfaction it gave him, he still struggled with his mental health demons when the challenges of this effort became too great, nearly causing him and his progress to unravel. This intimate look at a complex, troubled individual, what drives him and what nearly destroyed him tugs at the heart strings in many ways, especially in its ample footage of the positively adorable felines and their intuitive bonds with their human mentor. The picture’s gorgeous cinematography and emotive score add much to this film’s heartwarming narrative, though its length is arguably somewhat excessive given the scope of the subject matter and could have easily benefitted from some judicious editing. Nevertheless, directors Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh have compiled an uplifting, candid chronicle of this inspiring though sometimes-painful story, one that gives hope where it’s absent and provides even the most downtrodden among us with new reasons to carry on.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

alanpotter17

Jan 6, 2023

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Este documentário acompanha a vida de um biólogo e sua relação com dois felinos em plena floresta amazônica peruana. Na verdade, ele ainda tem uma amiga como companhia, mas o foco é mesmo na relação entre ele e os filhotes de onça, os quais ele cuida com muita ternura.
O filme inicia de forma muita bela, com uma montagem que nos faz aproximar do lugar paradisíaco que é a floresta e nos faz imergir facilmente. Após mostrar a relação dele com um filhote, o animal morre por acidente e, logo em seguida, outro é substituído. Embora esteja se tratando de um outro felino, o amor que ele recebe do rapaz é o mesmo, e ele aos poucos vai ajudando com a caça e a sobrevivência, treinando para que o animal ganhe aptidões para sobreviver, a ideia é ele treiná-lo até que complete 18 meses e, após isso, devolvê-lo à mata.
Confesso que acompanhar a rotina ficou monótono, teve um susto com um jacaré e mais nada. É bonito, claro, ver a relação dele com os animais, mas esperava algo mais dinâmico, talvez se abortasse um pouco a própria forma do humano sobreviver na floresta, desse uma quebrada no ritmo, mas o filme foca no felino mesmo, e se torna cansativo. Ao menos está muito bem filmado, mesmo nas cenas noturnas.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

icotzabb

Jan 5, 2023

At first this was childish and self-indulgent. Ok no worries. To be expected. But then, to my horror, the tatooed fella shi*s himself on camera because sure we really needed to show that. And then shockingly we see a shot of the tatooed fella crouched down **** I pooed myself he says orAt first this was childish and self-indulgent. Ok no worries. To be expected. But then, to my horror, the tatooed fella shi*s himself on camera because sure we really needed to show that. And then shockingly we see a shot of the tatooed fella crouched down **** I pooed myself he says or something to that effect. Then we see the two lovebirds pawing and groping each other. Boy they sure are defenders of the wild oops i mean YOU ARE DISGHUSTING.… Expand

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