Kangaroo: A Love Hate Story

Kangaroo: A Love Hate Story (2017)
Directed by	Mick McIntyre Kate McIntyre Clere
Written by	Mick McIntyre Kate McIntyre Clere
Starring	Kangaroo Dundee Tim Flannery Terri Irwin Peter Singer Philip Wollen
Music by	David Bridie
Cinematography	Mick McIntyre
Edited by	Wayne Hyett
Production company	Second Nature Films
Distributed by	Abramorama Indievillage
Release date	5 February 2017 (AUS) 19 January 2018 (USA)
Running time	103 Minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English

Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story, is an Australian environmental documentary produced by Second Nature Films,^[1] co-written and directed by the team of Mick McIntyre and Kate McIntyre Clere. The dramatic documentary centers around the relationship that Australians share with kangaroos.^[2] The documentary brings in experts on different sides of the issue, and features interviews with Tim Flannery, Australia's leading conservationist, and Terri Irwin, owner of the Australia Zoo. The film opened in Australia on February 5, 2017 and in 2018 Kangaroo opened in limited release to theatres in the United States on January 19.

Background

Kangaroo began as an interest to delve deeper into the spilt opinion concerning the animal, with Kate McIntyre Clere saying that they were surprised to learn just how many kangaroos are shot and sold for profit each year.^[3] The film opens in the middle of the action, with home video that was shot and provided by one of the interviewees in the film, showing the violent and brutal shooting of kangaroos on the edge of the individual’s property. Kangaroos are seen as the icon of Australia, and the marsupial is featured in everything from tourism advertisements, sports teams, and Qantas, the national airline of Australia. The crux of the documentary is to shed light on the dark and violent truth that lies within the commercial kangaroo industry, and highlights the culling of the icon. The film does not shy away from the graphic, and gets up close and personal with the aftermath of kangaroo harvesting, explaining that while there are regulations put in place to ensure that the kangaroos are killed in a humane way (a bullet to the head), it is revealed that a sizeable percentage of culled kangaroos were shot in the neck or the jaw, rather than the head, causing prolonged suffering. Another important point that is made in the film is that the systemic algorithm currently in place to track and monitor kangaroo populations, is complicated and flawed as it does include factors such as drought, illegal shooting, climate change, or slow reproduction rates. Kangaroo includes voices from all sides of the issue, including those from a political and economic perspective, as well as from a humanitarian and scientific perspective, interviewing members of Australian parliament and environmental experts.

Featured Cast

Due to the documentary nature of the film, the cast does not feature a list of characters, but rather a list of credible sources who lent their time and expertise to appear in the film. Listed here are some of the featured Australians that were interviewed.^[4]

Reception

The film received a mix of critical reviews when it first premiered. Many have been in positive support of the film, with the New York Times saying that Kate and Mick "sound a wake-up siren" and that the film "isn't always pretty, but it is necessary."^[5] Variety as well had positive comments, praising the documentary, exclaiming that it "has the potential to help bring kangaroo welfare and management into much sharper focus in Australia and internationally," if a solution to the slaughter was to ever be found.^[6] Others, however, did not receive the film positively, especially farmers and those working in the commercial kangaroo industry, saying that the documentary was a "beat up" and expressed fears that it could ruin the industry. ^[7] Kangaroo currently holds a 78% total film score on Rotten Tomatoes^[8] and a score of 66 on Metacritic.^[9]

Controversy

Due to the main content of the film, Kangaroo has caused its fair share of controversy since its release. The topic of the film in itself, the dark reality behind the kangaroo culling industry, was already controversial even before the documentary was made, with Mick and Kate stating that they were shocked at how polarising the documentary was, saying that they "knew it would be polarising, but not this polarising."^[10] Those in government positions, as well as those who make a living in the commercial kangaroo industry, openly criticised the film. When NSW Greens senator Lee Rhiannon, one of the politicians featured in the documentary, spoke at one of the premieres with several other animal activists, her support and promotion of the film were labeled as "disgusting" by the minister of Federal Agriculture, David Littleproud.^[7] A negative reaction was also received from the National Farmers' Federation (NFF) and its president, Fiona Simson, who slammed the documentary for "misrepresenting the situation," and "ignoring basic facts," claiming that the film was "very damaging to Australia."^[11] Many other farmers and meat processors have come forward, declaring that Kangaroo uses "shock tactics" and that the film was a complete joke, questioning the motives of the filmmakers.^[11]

Awards

Academy Awards

One of the film's distributors, Indivillage, recently announced that Kangaroo has qualified for the 2019 Academy Awards. The creators have decided to launch a "For Your Consideration" campaign in order to catch the Academy's interest and nomination. As part of the campaign, the documentary will be shown at additional screenings in Los Angeles, California.^[24]

See Also

• Aussie Rules the World

External Links

• Official website

References