Die Nacht der Giraffe (2012)
65KDie Nacht der Giraffe: Directed by Edwin. With Ladya Cheryl, Nicholas Saputra, Adjie Nur Ahmad, Klarysa Aurelia. Little Lana was 3 years old when she was abandoned alone in the zoo. Raised by a giraffe trainer, the zoo is the only world she knows. Until one day, a charming magician arrives and Lana finds her love, for she is ready to leave the zoo.
“I saw this film at the Berlinale film festival 2012, as part of the official Competition section. The synopsis as published by the film festival, prepared us that we would see two versions of the same Lana: first as a very young girl, and later as a young woman.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film started with Lina as a very young girl, wandering through the woods, watching animals and their caretakers. She called for her father in the beginning, but we never saw someone acting as her father. She had to find her own way, so it seemed, in this environment, left to her fantasies.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSuddenly, without an indication that time jumped forward, Lina re-appears as a grown up woman. We see her becoming an assistant for a magician dressed as a cowboy, who suddenly and magically disappears from her life. Later on we see her at work as a masseuse at a spa.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs a bonus we got a crash course in zoology and insights in zoo internals, though Iu0026#39;m unsure it was intentional to educate us. While many different animals were shown, the giraffe seems to be Lanau0026#39;s main focus. Anyway, we now know more about giraffes than weu0026#39;ll ever need to know.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNothing much happens in the sense of a plot, yet we were treated on nice views on animals, the flora in a zoo, and the playgrounds for childrenu0026#39;s entertainment. And the magician/cowboy was a nice touch to have him included in the scenario, providing for a mini-story within the film. Same, to a lesser degree, can be said about her job as a masseuse. For that reason, this film was not boring to sit through. Nevertheless, I had expected more of a dramatic development, given the announcement text. Donu0026#39;t expect a coherent story with head and tail; you wonu0026#39;t get any.”
