Wildcat review: Come for cute animals, stay for nuanced psychology


An unusual nature documentary features a battle-scarred soldier who finds salvation in the Amazon rainforest, caring for an injured ocelot cub and developing a complex relationship with the founder of a wildlife rescue centre



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30 December 2022

By Jon O’Brien

 New Scientist Default Image

Harry Turner and the ocelot named Keanu.

Trevor Frost/Prime Video

Wildcat

Prime Video (from 30 December)

Amazon Studios reportedly paid almost $20 million for the rights to Wildcat, an astounding figure for a documentary on a streaming service, surpassed only for superstar portraits of Beyoncé and Billie Eilish.

But while this documentary might be short on generation-defining pop icons, it does have stunning animals, breathtaking shots of the Peruvian rainforest and, perhaps unexpectedly, an unflinching insight into the effects of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

This condition is brought into focus by Harry Turner, a …

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