The next movie on Apple Plus was another documentary, this one a 2018 nature feature, centring on an African waterhole, and the Elephant herd that call it home.
A small waterhole in Kenya provides support for an ecosystem including bullfrogs, chameleons, dung beetles, geese but most notably a herd of Elephants. When the dry season arrives, the waterhole dries up and the elephants are forced to trek for miles to find a more reliable water source. Led by the Matriarch, Athena, there are difficult choices to make as the journey is long and the herd includes young children.
I should say, upfront, I'm not really a massive fan of animal documentaries. I'm not convinced that anthromorphising creatures helps our understanding that much and on a basic level, the stories are limited as eat, procreate and die is all wild animals really do. That said, it's not difficult to appreciate the work that goes into them. Hours of covert filming must be done in order to capture the key moments and then be edited into a narrative, it's a massive undertaking. There's lots of beautiful shots of the savannah, particularly drone/helicopter shots showing the massive distances that that herd will traverse and conversely, the extreme close ups to show tadpoles when they are little more than a few cells.
Whilst it's not exactly nature in "tooth and claw", indeed predators are largely but not entirely absent, there are some moments which are surprising and unexpectedly sad and show a reality of life for these animals that human endeavour is only making worse. Chiwetel Ejiofor's narration is good, and his occasionally funny or mildly suggestive script helps sell the narrative more. Like another reviewer, I could have done without the silly sound effects added to certain elements though.
A nicely made documentary, just one that given its subject, and my tastes, I'm unlikely to revisit.