Tartalmak(1)
In Jaipur, a large city in northern India, a striking number of animals can be seen. Most of them freely wander the streets, seemingly unhindered by the busy traffic. They rummage about among the garbage or try to steal some food from street vendors’ stalls. The authorities try to keep down the number of animals in the street, but for various reasons most of the animals’ owners are unable to keep their cows, pigs or goats indoors. Some of them do not even have a house and are forced by their poverty to have their animal scrape together its own meal. But religious factors and superstition also play an important role. In India, the cow is sacred and must be protected, but other animals are not easily killed either, even if they are old or ill. The makers of Animal City followed the animals and were led to the people who live with them. They filmed cows being fed by Hindus, in accordance with their religion. They followed a small goat home and filmed a bunch of brazen monkeys that, as one citizen claims, will even open a refrigerator if they get the chance. They talked with the owner of a herd of forty free-ranging cows, with a camel driver, an elephant keeper and a goat herder. By showing the relationship between man and animal, involving both respect and interdependence, the film draws an image of the complexity of Indian society, in which religion, hierarchy and traditions determine everyday life. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)
(több)