Emotionally Gripping ‘Checkpoint Zoo’ Showcases Effort to Save Ukraine’s Most Powerless Residents

Joshua Zeman’s Checkpoint Zoo offers an edge-of-your-seat perspective from the heroes out to save Ukraine’s most helpless creatures.

It’s a sad statement to make, but award-winning documentaries like 20 Days in Mariupol and last year’s Porcelain War have become especially important in reminding Americans that there is still a war going on in Ukraine.

Each documentary that comes out represents a different perspective on the conflict. Pre-war, there was of course Navalny, which follows the poisoning attempt of the titular Russian opposition leader, foreshadowing his ultimate demise. 20 Days in Mariupol captures the Associated Press news team’s gut-wrenching perspective, and Porcelain War shows how Ukrainian artists can put down their paintbrushes and pick up guns to fight back.

Now, we have Joshua Zeman’s Checkpoint Zoo, which introduces us to new heroes fighting to save the war’s most helpless creatures: zoo animals. When Feldman Ecopark ends up in the crossfire as war breaks out in Ukraine, park founder Oleksandr Feldman enlists fellow animal lovers and former park employees to save nearly 5,000 animals, including predators like lions, tigers, and bears (oh my, indeed).

Any documentary about the War in Ukraine keeps you on the edge of your seat, but this one is two-fold: Not only are these people dodging gunfire, but they’re also carefully maneuvering a 400-lb tranquilized killer on a tarp — and if that animal wakes up, they won’t even be thinking about the gunfire anymore. It is truly a high-wire act.

Checkpoint Zoo also thoughtfully delves into the connection between humans and animals. In some ways, it mirrors Tonia Haddix’s passion in HBO’s docuseries Chimp Crazy (Feldman ends up harboring many animals in his house!). At one point, Feldman’s wife says of the animals, “These are our children, you know?” But of course, no one is quite as obsessed as Ms. Haddix. At the same time, it muses over whether zoos are worth having at all.

The last 20 minutes of the documentary are some of the most devastating of the year. Even though Feldman and his team rescue more than 4,000 animals, the success comes at a crippling cost, a reminder that for every life saved, animal or human, there’s no winning in war.

Checkpoint Zoo is now playing in select theaters starting August 15.