Amazon’s ‘Wildcat’ Review - Harry and Samantha’s Purposeful Life in the Wild!

Apart from Netflix’s documentaries about wild animals and wildlife, Amazon also released a new film based on life in the wild and among the wild. Wildcat is a documentary that is an Amazon original and is available on Prime Video. The movie runs for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It follows the beautiful journey of two people who finds a home in the jungle.

Wildcat brings us the story of two people – Harry and Samantha. Harry Turner who is in his late twenties is a soldier who served in Afghanistan but left because he struggled with PTSD and depression.  He decides to give himself a second chance by going somewhere where he knows no one and nobody knows him. He escapes the ordinary life and goes to the Amazon rainforest where he meets a Ph.D. student named Samantha Zwicker. They both develop a bond and soon foster an orphaned baby ocelot together. The entire documentary covers this journey of theirs but with lots of ups and downs both mentally and physically.

Both Samantha and Harry have their traumatic past and they still struggle to keep up with their thoughts while they take care of the baby ocelot named Khan. Even though the documentary might seem to be something that offers us a look into the wildlife and how these two humans survive in the Amazon rainforest, the documentary gives us an account of their mental health journey as well. We are given insights into their personal life i.e., about their families and what matters to them outside this world of the wild. The documentary beautifully portrays how the human world couldn’t help them with their traumatic pasts but the wildlife could.

The entire documentary feels like an episode of Animal Planet but with a lot more emotions from the humans involved with the animals. Even though a vast variety of animals are displayed we are mainly given the story of Khan and Keanu (the ocelots they foster). It is also mesmerizing to know how Samantha and Harry have built a home in the middle of nowhere. When in today’s world everything is connected and cannot function without the technological advances that we usually have, these two youngsters voluntarily chose a life away from the mundane way of living. Through rehabilitating the orphaned ocelots, the two find a purpose in their life. This is what makes and gives them absolute joy and they also believe that they are truly made for the wild.

Most of the moments in the film are heartfelt and beyond what we usually see in a documentary. As we watch the documentary, we will not only enjoy the beauty in the wildlife but also, we will see how Harry and Samantha are turning into the embodiment of humanity’s idealism.

The documentary is well structured and has a good form which makes us understand the story in a perfect flow. The documentary also has pleasant background music which goes very well with the scenic beauty of the jungle and lifts the entertaining part of the documentary.
 
 
The documentary does warn the viewers about descriptions contained in the film about self-harm. But other than this trigger, everything else contained in the documentary film is beautiful, emotional, and serene. Give this documentary a try if you want to be taken to the other side of the world where humans do survive, probably more peacefully away from the human chaos!

Final Score – [9/10]
Reviewed by - Poornima Balsu
Follow @BalsuPoornima on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times