Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story (2018)

Why so much hype?

Absolutely the worst movie.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Just watched on Starz and enjoyed every minute. It doesn't feel like a documentary, it feels like I watched a movie. Absolutely captivating! I would imagine the negative reviews are from the trekking camps in Thailand, they don't want you to know what they do to these poor creatures in order to ride them. A must see

All of the 1-star reviews are from Circus managers and other people who exploit animals for a living. Don't believe the lies.

This movie is 100% fiction. The women in it are delusional and are doing nothing to save elephants. In fact they are contributing nothing but negativity to Thailand, to Thai elephants and the wonderful mahouts who give their lives to care for their elephants. Lek is a money hungry woman who won't let anyone get in her way. She has made videos of fake phajaan made with PeTA to get monetary donations from gullible westerners whom she has sucked in with her web of lies and deceit. There has been more human and elephant deaths at her camp than at any other domestic elephant facility in the whole of Asia. She claims riding elephants is wrong yet there is a lot of footage of her riding. She claims takaws are used as weapons yet makes her mahouts carry bamboo switches with nail spikes sticking through them. She only hires people who have no experience with elephants so they don't question her. Supporting this movie only puts more money into Leks pocket and less to people who are working to save Thailand's elephants.

I would have preferred to give this a zero but I can't.I don't know if Ms.Bell was emotionally indoctrinated by Lek or just misinformed but her quote of "Every elephant baby goes through the phajaan or crush" is a blatant lie. The 'phajaan' actually means to separate or divorce and with domesticated elephants there is a cultural ceremony with Monks and chanting and is quite tender and emotional,Youngsters learn from their mothers and siblings The same as humans and other animals, The "crush footage was filmed, I think, in 2002 and was proven after a Police investigation to have been a set up by certain individuals and AR groups. 'In the early 2000s, Lek filmed undercover footage of what it takes to break an elephant's spirit and turn a wild Asian elephant into one docile enough to give rides and perform at shows. The process is known as pajan, aka the "crush box" and it was one of Southeast Asia's best-kept secrets.' This quote was written by Ashley Bell herself, which means that Ashley received this information directly from Lek. Since Lek filmed the footage herself, as stated in the above quote, why didn't She do anything to help the elephant calf that was being tortured? She proceeded to film the 'undercover footage'. Did she even consider calling the police to inform them that this evil torturing was going on.If someone loves elephants that is the first thing one should do Elephants are sacred in Thailand and the Police would have been there in a flash. An outright falsehood like this is in the film helps no one least of all the elephants. I particularly liked the part where she wipes her dry eyed 'crocodile tears' from her eyes with her shirt. Sorry Ms.Bell but I believe you were conned. There are plenty of scientifically based sites on the internet that people should read and then have fact based reasoning rather than an emotional one.