Zoo

Frederick Wiseman's examination of a publicly owned zoo in Miami reveals both the seen and unseen as he gains access to the rarely documented backstage.

For his 27th film as director, Frederick Wiseman leads us through the inner workings of the Miami Metrozoo (now known as Zoo Miami): a tropical zoo that Miami-Dade County owns and operates. Opening with a circus-like performance of three elephants and a whip-wielding trainer to the delight of onlookers, the film swiftly shifts to a series of significant events out of public view. Zoo workers await the birth of a rhinoceros calf, a gorilla receives a dental examination, and later in the film a series of deaths in the deer enclosure spark a police-style murder investigation. A hunt for the perpetrator ensues.

Curator's note
Zoos are ethically complex. Frederick Wiseman chose the Miami Metrozoo because he thought it was an excellent zoo, and filmed there over six weeks. It is unclear what he thought of the zoo after the shoot was complete, but we can be certain he would have wanted to leave that assessment to the audience.

What is clear is that a definitive line runs through the film – and the zoo – separating what visitors observe and what happens behind the scenes. Parts of Zoo are difficult to watch, but this duality is what makes the film so compelling.

Wiseman also casts the visiting public in dual roles, as observers and the observed. Some give the animals a mocking laugh; others give squeals of delight. But if the cost of admission included access to some of the darker moments of the film, some visits might have been cut short.

Ambivalent observers, welcome to the zoo.