charlene choi in diary

beauty with fangs

africa, the serengeti

Narrated by James Earl Jones, National Geographic’s Africa: The Serengeti is not only one of my favorite documentaries, it’s one of my favorite movies, period. The cinematography is stunning, the pace is browsingly good. It’s story arc moves from focus on the wildebeest, which seems to serve as a migrating meal, to shots of hot air balloons flying overhead  and describes the role tourist money plays in supporting the wildlife preserves.

James Earl: “The equation of life on the Serengeti is simple: Herbivores eat plants. Carnivores eat herbivores” and “there is neither malice nor remorse on the Serengeti … nothing is wasted” with a deadpan matter-of-factness that only he can do.

eye of the leopard

This 90 minute dramocumentary, filmed over two years by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, the award-winning filmmakers of Eternal Enemies is a must see. Effectively told through a series of flashbacks, the film chronicles the first two years of one leopard’s life. His name is Legadema. There are no humans in this one. It’s all about the cats. You’ve got to see what Legadema does when he finds himself in possession of a day-old baboon baby. It will amaze you.

I’m willing to admit that these kinds of dramocumentaries manufacture a story to a large degree, but this stuff is caught on film and I don’t think the cats are privy to the script.