Autumn And The Black Jaguar Movie Review

Autumn and the Black Jaguar, originally titled as “Le dernier Jaguar”, is an adventurous movie directed by Gilles de Maistre. The writer of this movie is Prune de Maistre. The cast of this movie includes – Emily Bett Rickards (Anja), Lumi Pollock (Autumn Edison), Wayne Charles Baker (Ore), Paul Greene (Saul Edison), Kelly Hope Taylor (Doria Dargan), Lucrezia Pini (Celya), Airam Camacho (Autumn Edison, 6y/o), Eva Avila (Ellie), Letitia Brookes, K.C. Coombs, Amanda Ip and Charlie Vachon. Armand Amar has given the music for this film. The producers of this movie are Catherine Camborde, Marco Colombo, Gilles de Maitre, Nicole Soriana, Carole Vaillancourt, Jonathan Vanger, and others. Olivier Laberge is the cinematographer of this movie.

Plot

The movie reflects upon the greedy and capitalist nature of humans due to which the environment and its wildlife is suffering. It depicts the essence of peaceful existence alongside other creatures through the bond of Autumn and Hope. Autumn grows up in the Amazon rainforest, where she befriends a lost jaguar cub and named her Hope. Later on, Autumn started to live in New York City due to some tragic events. After getting accustomed to the urban lifestyle, at the age of fourteen years, Autumn discovers that her village is under threat from animal traffickers who seek to destroy the wildlife and the ecosystem of the forest. So, she decided to return to safe Hope. In this dangerous venture, Anja, Autumn’s biology teacher, also joins her to ensure her safety. Will they succeed in saving Hope? What dangers await them? The story unveils the answers to these questions. 

Star Performances

Acting performance isn’t a plus point for this movie. Lumi Pollock overacted while portraying Autumn, specifically in scenes showcasing the bond between her character and the feline. Emily did a decent job portraying Anja, a biology who was cautious of her student’s safety, and so, she decided to accompany Autumn in her dangerous journey. The rest of the cast did what the story demanded from their respective characters. 

Analysis

Already known for his film,’ Mia and the white lion’, Gilles de Maistre returns with a movie, ‘Autumn and the black jaguar’, that centers on the message of the importance of the environment through exploring the bond between a human and a wild animal. The story doesn’t hold anything substantially different from the rest of the movies based on similar themes. In this movie, a fourteen-year-old tries to protect his childhood best friend, a black jaguar, from the poachers and animal traffickers who are attacking her village. Through Autumn, the director teaches the viewers about the importance of the environment, the sheer need to protect wildlife, and to cherish the bond one can have with these animals. From the environmentalists’ perspective, this movie imparted a heart-touching message. It highlighted the importance of nature and its beauty, but from the cinematic point of view, it failed to impress the audience. It feels like the writers crafted the screenplay without much heed to the story. At times, Lumi was found over-acting and pulled back the credibility from the message the movie was trying to tell. The cinematography was passable. However, the BG score and the VFX come to rescue this sinking ship. The greenery and ravish landscapes shown hold the attention of the viewers. The authenticity of the jaguar over CGI enhanced the movie-watching experience of the viewers. The first half of the film felt long, which eventually compressed the climax. As a result, the climax of this movie felt rushed. 

What’s There?

• Great message

• Authentic display of the bond between a human and a feline.

• Remarkable representation of nature

• Decent music

• Remarkable use of VFX 

What’s Not There?

• The story is repetitive 

• Poorly written screenplay

• Cringe dialogues

• Over Acting

Verdict

The movie ‘Autumn and the black Jaguar’ forces the audience to reflect upon their life choices and ask them to protect our environment from our own greed and capitalist nature. Though the movie holds a beautiful message, it fails to present the same in a meaningful and intriguing manner. The story’s predictability and lack of innovation causes the audience to lose interest. Despite its flaws, this movie is a family-oriented entertainer with a social message.