Title – Wildcat (2022)  

Directors – Trevor Frost & Melissa Lesh (feature debuts) 

Cast – Harry Turner, Samantha Zwicker

Plot – Suffering from the effects of his tours of Afghanistain, this documentary follows british solider Harry Turner as he finds potential solace in the Peruvian jungle looking after an orphaned baby ocelot he must raise to return to the wild. 

“He’s saving me. I’m saving him”

Review by Eddie on 19/06/2023

Purchased by the streaming arm of Amazon for a figure reported to be near $20 million dollars, a figure usually reserved for high-profile music documentaries on name brand entities, the little documentary that could Wildcat deserves to have found its place amongst the most surprisingly successful features of the 2022 release calendar.

Co-directed by first time feature length documentarians Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh, who both spent close to half a years’ worth of days on the ground in the harsh yet beautiful Peruvian Amazon rain forest, capturing the story of one-time British soldier Harry Turner and his boss Samantha Zwicker’s work with a young orphaned ocelot whom they must raise to one day return to the wild where it faces daily dangers from both mankind and other inhabitants of its lands.

What you’d expect to be nothing more than a heart-warming tale, Wildcat is that in moments but what makes Frost and Lesh’s film so impressive outside of its well captured moments and moving score from composer Patrick Jonsson is the fact this raw and intimate doco is also a haunting look at mental illness due to main subject Harry Turner’s battle to stay on top of his demons following his duty of service of Afghanistan, a service that has left the young vulnerable soul with a massive void within that finds potential salvation with his work in the lonely surrounds of the jungle he and young ocelot Keanu find themselves in.

Coming with a warning before the film starts, Wildcat is a warts and all examination of depression and anxiety and the film is likely to be a hard watch for anyone that has experience with these ailments but there’s no denying that Frost and Lesh should be commended for handling the topics with such grace and care that makes sure throughout that Wildcat the film and Turner’s personal journey of attempted overcoming’s are at all times engaging, moving and eye-opening in a unique way that feels separate from other such ventures that may’ve been released over recent times.

With its share of gloom and doom and some gut-wrenching moments that are hard to endure, there’s also a wondrous joy to be had watching Keanu’s tale transpire before our eyes and as a reminder of the power of the bond between mankind and nature, Wildcat is an unforgettable experience that may be small in scale and scope but delivers a viewing experience that many bigger films would do anything to have.

Final Say –

A considered and moving portrait of mental illness and hope in the least likely of places that also happens to be a powerful exploration of the beauty and danger of nature, Wildcat is a must-see documentary that deserves a large audience.

4 1/2 tree snakes out of 5