Water For Elephants [M]

With the untimely death of his parents, young Jacob Jankowski finds himself orphaned and adrift with no plan but to go to the city to try to find work. Upon the way, he jumps aboard a passing train and finds himself running away with a second-rate circus struggling to survive the Great Depression. As a veterinary student, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus animals and, here, he meets Marlena, the star attraction and beautiful wife of August, the charismatic and twisted animal trainer. Jacob also meets Rosie, a beautiful elephant who seems untrainable, until Jacob discovers a surprising way to reach her. 

Aww this is a very lovely tale of forbidden romance and understanding. I even found myself tearing up at more than one point. Water For Elephants was a really lovely film that was filled with hardship, romance, and belonging. 

With the untimely death of his parents, young Jacob Jankowski finds himself orphaned and adrift with no plan but to go to the city to try and find work. Upon the way, he jumps aboard a passing train and finds himself running away with a second-rate circus struggling to survive the Great Depression. As a veterinary student, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus animals and, here, he meets Marlena, the star attraction and beautiful wife of the August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. Jacob also meets Rosie, a beautiful elephant who seems untrainable, until Jacob discovers a surprising way to reach her. 

I don’t know what it is, but there is something undeniably romantic about the circus. Maybe it’s the familial inclusion of all shapes and sizes or maybe it’s the lights and theatrical atmosphere of the whole thing, I don’t know. But it worked for the romance in Big Fish and it certainly works for this. 

Without a doubt, the real star of the show was the elephant. She was just so absolutely beautiful and you really have to applaud the animal trainers who work with her night and day to get to perform as brilliantly as she does. Kudos. 

A mix between Titanic and Big Fish, Water For Elephants was a beautiful romance story that used the clever technique of storytelling and reflection. It had every element that you could want in a romance story; betrayal, denial, lust, secrets, and violence. All this set against the glittering and grandiose backdrop of a classic big top. It was wonderful. 

Starring Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christopher Waltz (who was brilliant as the villain that you can’t really hate), Paul Schneider, Jim Norton, Hal Holbrook, and Mark Povinelli, Water For Elephants is a dazzling drama that was filled with glitter, romance, betrayal, violence, animals, and the occasional bit of comedy. It really was a lovely film.