The Last Lions (2011)

Truly Dreadful Film

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

This Natural History documentary is in my opinion one of the best ever produced. This is in part due to the tremendous narration by British actor Jeremy Irons together with the incredible photography.It has been given a UK PG Certificate and I agree with this because it is not recommended for young viewers.The documentary films the life of a solitary lioness and her three cubs.SPOILER BEGINS This story begins with the lioness (given the name Ma di Tau), her lion partner and their three cubs living on their own without a pride of lions.Another pride invades their home and kills the male leaving Ma di Tau and her three cubs to fend for themselves.SPOILER ENDS I am not giving any more information about the film because it should be watched and the viewer must form their own opinion about it.I will say that for all those who have an interest in Natural History, either great or small they should watch this extremely sad and enlightening documentary and for those who do not have an interest they should watch it and perhaps they will develop an interest and a great concern for the future of this beautiful Earth's wildlife.20 years ago 450.000 lions roamed the wild but now only 20.000 remain due to being hunted and having their natural habitat stolen from them by greedy humans.

The Last Lions, a Journey of why we should be concerned. Set in the Okavanda delta, in Africa, The Last Lions (released: 2011) documentary starts off by warning us, the audience, of how much the lions' population has declined in the past fifty years. It then takes us on a journey to discover how a lone lioness has to take care of her three cubs in the face of the harsh modern African wild-life. The documentary shows us the lioness's point of view on things and how she devices plans to get her cubs to a place safe enough, long enough so they can grow and be able to defend for themselves. The lioness's journey starts with her being named Ma Di Tau, which means protector of her young. The Documentary shows us the many obstacles that Ma Di Tau has to overcome, starting from the moment where her mate is killed, she's left all alone to defend herself from the new pack of lions that had to move because of human advancement. The documentary then shows us that although Ma Di Tau had lost her mate, she still had a sliver of hope that she wasn't all alone, she still had her three cubs to take care of. Ma Di Tau takes her cubs and starts moving away from the pack – that's trying to hunt her down to kill her. In addition, a new obstacle appears: a fire ignites; which leaves the lioness to choose between walking along the fire line, or heading off in the direction of humans, and guns. In this moment the documentary shows us an effect of human advancement: limiting the land to which she can run away. But Ma Di Tau doesn't give up; she keeps looking for new land; the lioness then finds an island – named Duba – safe enough, until the new obstacles arrive. All the while, the documentary shows us the very complex thoughts that the lioness goes through in her survival oriented mind; the narrator speaks for the lioness and how she goes through her options, and executes them precisely. Even though the documentary gives the point of view of the lioness, it also explains the logic behind her actions and what consequences these options might produce. This documentary has a specific audience, because it is not the general wild-life documentary that you might watch on a Sunday afternoon. The documentary specifically shows how this one lioness survives in the wilderness, so it'll interest people who are trying to understand how the lion mind works. On the other hand, if you are not patient enough this isn't the documentary for you because there's a lot of moments in the documentary where all you do is wait for the lioness to attack, or the lioness bonding with her cubs. It also shows a very cruel part of the wild-life, a part where the weak is left behind, so this might not be a good documentary for kids. All in all, this documentary is very informative and expressive. It shows Ma Di Tau in a very logical sense, instead of the mindless predator that a lion is represented as; it also shows a very emotional part where she's represented as a protective mother trying to save her cubs, or a grieving mother trying to get revenge for her cubs. The documentary clearly represents all these emotions and logic by showing it on camera: you can see the logical predator when she has all that blood and battle scars on her, or the protective mother look that the camera captures, and lastly the pride in which you can see in her walk when she succeeds in being a protector of her young.

Oh my God! This was so good. It's probably the best documentary on lions I have ever seen. Honestly. The lioness overcame so much! I bawled my eyes out when she had to leave the cub with the broken spine. And I don't cry that often. She became a leader, and forged friendships, and thankfully still had one child. She never gave up on that herd of buffalo...she was going to get one no matter what it cost her. Usually, I watch these things and feel sad for the prey, but I wanted her get one. And you could actually see the pain of loss in her face when she lost her mate, and her two cubs, especially the second one. She knew she would have to leave it behind. I know I sound corny, but this movie was great. It made me feel sad, happy and guilty all at the same time. It makes me want to quit my job and go save lions!

I was one of the fortunate few who were introduced today to this cinematic dreamscape of Botswana and the incredible life of one brave lioness. The premiere in Houston, TX was presented by National Geographic and the audience was also treated to a Q&A session with the actual film makers -- Dereck and Beverly Joubert. Quite an honor and special event offered to the contributors of the Big Cats initiative where the donations help dedicated researchers and animal conservationists find solutions to the grave threats facing lions, tigers, leopards, and other big cats. This documentary provided scenes of survival that even this Big Cat Diary watcher has never witnessed. Amazing truths of the brutal life in the wild that these creatures face every day in Africa. Incredible scenes of the adaptation of the kings and queens of the jungle and their unwavering dedication to the protection of their young.The musical score and cinematography, together with the slightly subdued drama beautifully presented by Jeremy Irons made this a truly riveting experience that I will never forget and, for which I am proud to be a continued supporter.This is a must see for animal lovers.